The Darkest Dungeon: Modded Edition
by falloutplayer9
Summary: We've all heard the stories of a group of intrepid adventurers, those who braved the halls of a once proud home of nobles to seal away the darkness if only for a time. Of course, stories tend to twist and leave out details, how about I tell you those stories now with a little more "Detail" added to it? Come one, come all! Let's once again delve into the Darkest Dungeon once more!
1. Introduction - Darkest Dungeon: Modded

_"Ruin has come to our family. You remember our Venerable House, Opulent and Imperial. Gazing proudly from its stoic perch above the moore. I lived all my years in that ancient rumor shadowed manner. Fattened by decadence and luxury, and yet I began to tire of conventional extravagance, singular unsettling tales suggested the mansion itself was a gateway to some fabulous and unamable power._ _With relic and ritual, I bent every effort towards the excavation and recovery of those long buried secrets. Exhausting what remained of our family fortune on surly workmen and sturdy shovels. At last in the salt soaked cracks beneath the lowest foundations we unearthed that damnable portal and a deluvient evil._ _Our every step unsettled the ancient earth, but we were in a realm of death and madness. In the end I alone was the only one who escaped, laughing and wailing through those blackened arcaded halls of antiquity, until consciousness failed me._ _You remember our Venerable House, Opulent and Imperial. It is a festering abomination! I BEG YOU! Return home claim your birthright, and deliver our family from the ravenous clutches of… The Darkest Dungeon."_

It didn't matter how many times he read the letter over, for all he knew maybe the old man had finally gone senile. Talks of abominations, ancient evils, mysterious powers that be. Truly, only a madman would ever believe any of this nonsense to be true.

He must have been one of them, despite all better judgement to ignore the old man's words. He couldn't get this madness out of his head, each night was a restless one. Voices of doubt haunted his dreams, asking many questions that he had no answer to. What if he had been wrong? What if that madman of a grandfather was correct and he did unleash some ancient evil? His grandfather he could give any less of a shit about, but what of the people that decided to build a town next to his family estate? He had many fond memories of the quaint little town, when the stuffiness of the Manor became too much, he usually left to enjoy himself in the quiet town and feel the warm summer wind against his face.

Maybe this was possibly letting superstious fear take hold instead of common sense, but he felt it deep within his bones that he could not risk this. While he did leave that place long ago due to many issues with the only man, one thing was for certain, his ancestor never did a single thing without purpose. Today was the day he'd found out that purpose, he prayed to The Light that this wasn't the ramblings of an old man, he'd have a few strong words to say if that was the case.

He sat within his stagecoach currently transporting him towards the ancestral home he had left behind, in his hands was the note. The note was neat and clean, clear of any kinds of blotches and mistreatment. He had been careful with this note, careful not to damage it. This thing had called him back, back to a place he had no intention of returning to. A note left by an old man who might've damned them all to hell.

He wouldn't have had much chance to continue wallowing in his thoughts, his focus being taken as he felt a gentle but firm hand rest upon his shoulder. Looking up, he laid his green eyes upon the individual in question.

Sitting in front of him was the Crusader, Reynauld, donned in a suit of armor following the color motif of grey and gold. Wearing upon his chest was a cloth that reached down between his legs as it was a red cloth with gold trimmimgs and a gold cross across his chest, the symbol of his order.

"Are you well, Moriarty? You seem to be staring at that parchment with an intense gaze. Is it wise to make such a trip? You make it known that you show no love for your lineage." The Crusader spoke, concern lining his strict tone.

"I say leave him to worry about his family in solitude, matters not to me whether or not he is sound, only that he keeps his end of the bargain." Said a brash tone, sitting beside Reynauld was the other acompanying him on his trip back. Within the same transport was none other then the Highwayman, Dismas. The rogue dressed in a grey coat that covered a simple linen shirt. He wore leather pants along with simple boots, covering his neck and mouth was a red scarf. His face held a rough expression as he also had a decent amount of black hair on his head.

Reynauld looks over at Dismas for a few moments before returning his gaze back onto The Heir. "What Dismas means to say is that, are you sure you wish to go through with this journey?"

"Hey, don't go around and start interpreting my words any way you want. You might give the impression I care." Dismas replies from where he sat. His arms were crossed as he stared outside at the passing trees and their gloomy atmosphere.

These two men were his companions for the journey ahead, Reynauld offering to come along when he had caught word of his choice to return to his old home. The two decided to travel together out of respect of their friendship formed during the times of the Crusades. Dismas was a whole other story entirely, he had come across the Highwayman in the dead of midnight upon the steps of his home. Within seconds of just opening the door, the Highwayman was already inviting himself in with intentions of discussing the contracts he had left out for those to accompany him on his trip and investigation of his ancestral home. The exchange was strange to say the least, the usually confident Dismas was fidgetting every now and then as details of the way he would get there were discussed. When prices were eventually brought up, Dismas offered to join for the lowest rate that he had even seen from the individual. When asked why he was offering a low rate of payment for the trip, Dismas simply dodged the question and left his home within seconds preventing any further attempt to probe for answers.

"Peculiar behavior, but I welcome his company nonetheless along with Reynauld. Both these men have seen a life of battle and conflict, I only hope that it never comes to the point that these experiences had to be utilized." He thought to himself. He cleared his throat before saying to Reynauld, "I am fine, friend... Simply wondering and worrying for the future, nothing too debilitating, I can assure you."

"It sure as hell isn't assuring me." Dismas interrupts giving a bit of a glare at Moriarty. "The worst thing you could do right now is think too hard. What was once worry becomes obsession, don't you let that go and blind ya from what's in front of you." He continues before looking back outside at the gloomy and depressive landscaping.

"True... Very true indeed, Dismas. I'll take your words to heart." Replied Moriarty though Dismas only grunted in response and continued to stare out the window.

Reynauld decided to break the tension between the two saying, "What caused this rift between you and your family lineage? From what I've heard, your family had been known to be filled with many intrepid adventurers and explorers of the like. Men and women who had traveled far and wide to discover the unknown. You did very much the same when we came across one another. You even joined briefly with the Crusades."

"He has a point, when I met you, you were some helpless kid that couldn't help but walk into danger. You do the same things that any other member of your family had done before, if what Reynauld tells me is true. Why the split? You seem like you would have fit in well with those chums and their fancy manor." Dismas says turning his head to look back at Moriarty as he was expecting an answer from the Heir.

"You two bring up good points, true it may seem that I was right where I belonged, but that couldn't be any more farther from the truth. My Grandfather and I never saw eye to eye on matters. While never outright cruel, he was... Withdrawn... He kept to himself, he was a hard man to connect with. Conversations were hard to come by with him, it always felt like he had secrets. It wouldn't be until he came to blows with my father that I decided the time was right to leave. With my father and mother, we left the family estate with him and traveled far to set up a name for ourselves elsewhere. Due to the disputes, communication with him were strained. I personally never thought he would write back, let alone send a most curious letter." Moriarty explained to the two as his head tilted back down towards the letter. With his free hand, he moved to grab an item he found within the envelope along with the letter, a mysterious key of sorts with the end being shaped to form the symbol of a skull.

"Sounds shady, a relative you've had terrible relations with and haven't heard from for some time begs you to come back, because of some evil in his basement. There are too many harrowing signs that say this is a trap or your grandfather has gone mad and is trying to have you killed."

"I've considered the possibility, that is why I have placed down contracts for those skilled in combat. Fortunately, I have built up a sizable sum over the years to start a business, though now I guess I must use that money to deal with the troubles of my Grandfather."

Moriarty let out an audible sigh, regret clearly plaguing his mind. Allowing his desire to slip free for the sake of an old senile man. Once again, he felt a heavy hand rest upon his shoulder.

"Cheer up, I know it may not be in my place to suggest, maybe you can salvage something much greater then riches from this expedition."

A moment passed between all the occupants of the stagecoach before the silence was broken once more.

"Well? Don't leave me grasping for answers, old friend. What could be more satisfying then riches? More desirable then forging a new legacy with my own two hands and feet?"

"Isn't it simple? A bond of familyhood, many people take such precious riches for granted, I give you this advice. Don't throw away or abandon the bonds that exist between family, you may never know when those precious few are lost." The Crusader explained, his tone becoming more dark towards the end as Reynauld simply looked down to stare at the floor. Almost as if he had much to think about himself. Dismas was also surprisingly quiet, with his head turned towards the window with his hands gripping his pants tightly.

The Heir decided to sit back and quietly ponder on the Crusader's words. There was truth, a truth he could barely comprehend, but a truth nonetheless. Could he really find it in his heart to make amends with his grandfather?

Only a sharp and violent pain awaited his thoughts as he massaged the area on his head that was hit as he heard the mad laughter of the one driving the stagecoach. He could faintly hear Dismas curse under his breath, probably commenting on the erratic driving they were experiencing.

Another shift could be heard before their stagecoach began to spin out of control. "Brace yourselves!" Moriarty shouted to the two men as they were thrown all about within their vehicle. The Heir took many blows all over his body before finally laying in the wreakage of the stagecoach.

His vision blurred and darkness slowly consuming his sight, he allowed the cold embrace to spread all over him as he lost consciousness.

He could of sworn, he heard his grandfather speaking from the distance...

 **"Mathius Moriarty, you have returned at last, know that the road ahead** **is filled with danger. You will see dangers unlike any other, but know this. You are not alone, with the opening of the portal comes new allies each with their own agenda in mind. As the last child of the Moriarty Bloodline, fulfill your brithright and conquer, The Darkest Dungeon."**

 **/Alright! So ends the first chapter of The Darkest Dungeon : Modded Edition! I'm quite excited as to where these chapters will go! As my method, going to play Darkest Dungeon with mods of all sorts! I actually used one right now. A mod that allows me to start with a skeleton key! Next chapter, we may see colorful people of both different and new enter the scene. Until then, signing off!**


	2. Chapter 1: The Story Has Only Just Begun

_"Wa...p..."_

 _"Wak...u..."_

 _"Come no... Th.s...i.n...our...nd..."_

A searing sensation ran through The Heir's entire body. Wounds from scratches to bruises littered his body. For the unfortunate, it hurt enough alone to simply twitch parts of his body. He felt a ringing sensation run through his head though it slowly faded overtime. He could hear them, Dismas and Reynauld, and their ensuing conversation.

Kneeling down and looking over Moriarty, The Crusader attempted to shake his companion back to consciousness as The Highwayman would be farther out near the outskirts of the wreakage, he kept watch with his flintlock pistol out and loaded. His Dirk Knife was kept in its holster though Dismas kept a tight grip on its handle with his free hand.

"Damn, no sign of that driver anywhere, figures that on our way to a shady expedition, we get into an accident. There are bandits out there in those forests just waiting to gut us alive and leave us for dead, but instead of finding safety, you decide that we have to stop and help the kid. He's probably dead or dying, dead weight that's not worth the effort."

"I am going to do you a favor and ignore what you have just said. Moriarty placed his life into our hands and the first thing on your mind when trouble arises is to leave him for dead just to save your own hide?"

"You think its so goddamn easy for me?! Sure, I want to bring the kid along and hope that every single goddamn thing is going to turn out alright! You know what's going to happen instead? We are going to get ambushed, get surrounded, and eventually killed because some "holier then thou" knight decided to go and be the hero!" Dismas replied, anger and frustration were clear in his tone and his words were coated in such intense feelings.

Before the situation could escalate any further, Moriarty decided to break it up between the two. Pushing himself up, he said, "E-Excuse me for interrupting a conversation between you two, I imagine that sitting around and arguing all day won't get us any closer to our goal."

He then coughed as he attempted to push himself back onto his feet, his bones ached as he forced himself back onto his feet albeit missing some finer control in his limbs. Reynauld attempted to aid in stabilizing The Heir's balance, though Moriarty politely declined the help assuring that he could move on his own for the moment.

"We should all start moving out, if what Dismas says is true, I wouldn't want to be around for when waves of bandits are on our position."

"Finally, my employer makes the first wise decision that doesn't scream, "Kill me! I'm very vulnerable!"."

Reynauld had just about had it, before he could go and confront Dismas about his choice of words and behavior, he was stopped by Moriarity. Walking slowly in front of the Crusader with a notable limp in his steps, he allowed his gase to rest of Dismas who was looking outward and not beeting his gaze.

"Dismas, I don't know what has happened within the years that we have parted ways nor will I push for details. All I ask is that you simply cooperate, I'll even pay you what you are owed when we reach the town and you can go your seperate way. For now, let's simply keep a level head and look forward. As far as I know, I hired you to be part of an expedition, a team... Let's be professional for now." Moriarity reasoned, his voice was low but was stern and held his ground.

Dismas turned to meet his gaze for only a moment before nodding and looking back out at the woods. He then moved on clear out a safe perimeter before they moved on.

Reynauld stood up beside Moriarty, his his head looking down at The Heir. "You give him more credit then he deserves. A reason for that, may I ask?"

Moriarity sighed and crossed his arms, "Trust me when I say that I that man my life, he's saved my hide more times then I could count. The least I can offer to him is the chance to understand his views."

"I see, a kind heart you hold, Moriarty. While I don't personally agree with many of his mannerisms, I'll take your word that he is worth his troublesome attitude at the moment."

"Thank you for understanding, old friend. I merely hope that we live long enough to find out what ails him so." Moriarity said as he walked with Reynauld to catch up with Dismas. As soon as they regrouped, The Heir suggested positions to stand more of a chance against the brigands that hunted them.

The two men talked with Moriarity about his ideas for how the placement went. A few moments went by before they finally agreed on positioning. Reynauld would be in front to more utilize his bladework and armor. Dismas would be behind Reynauld to make more effective use of his flintlock pistol and ranged capabilities as well as making up for his lack of protective gear. Moriarity would be in the way back of the group, close enough to issue and suggest possible options in the case of a fight, but far enough to avoid being a participant in the fight.

With this tactic utilized, they moved on through the foliage and worn roads with the goal of reaching the town in mind. As they traveled through the foliage, each member of the group kept their senses open for any sign of attack, the recent accident their stagecoach went through still fresh in their minds.

 **"The Brigands have run on these paths, stick to the side lanes to avoid their wrath."** Moriarity felt his head split open, there it was again. The voice of his grandfather speaking to him. He looked up at his two companions to see that they were walking forward, almost as if they didn't hear what he heard. "Strange, I must have hit my head harder then I thought." Moriarity thought as he made an effort to keep up with his party.

It wouldn't even be more then ten minutes later that the situation escalated, jumping out of the bushes was a Brigand wearing a brown leather chestplate, black boots covered in dirt and muck, metal gauntlets poorly tied together with bandages, and a green garb and hood. He held a bloodstained knife in each hand and didn't seem intent on letting the party pass.

 **"Make brutal work of this brigand and let all know of your approach!"** There it was again, this time he knew for sure that it must've been his grandfather though the battle wouldn't stop simply because he was preoccupied.

Dismas reacted quietly, before anyone and even the bandit could react, he quickly ran out from behind Reynauld and cut at the Brigand before dashing back behind his armored compatriot. The Brigand would be left with his fresh wounds as he was bleeding profusely, it seemed The Highwayman had cut open a vein. Not a beat was skipped as Reynauld stepped forward and slashed the bandit across the chest. The bandit hit the floor dying from his wounds, now a lifeless corpse on the ground, Dismas wasted not a single second to looting the dead body and pulling out a sack of coins that he stuffed into his pocket.

Moriarity breathed a breath of relief, their first encounter with a brigand and it seems no one was harmed in the encounter. While he would have opted for a more peaceful solution, it seems that violence was going to be necessary.

He felt another headache come along as he held it tenderly to withstand the pain.

 **"As the fiend falls, a glimmer of hope is revealed."** Where was this coming from? Had he finally lost his mind? He shook his head once more to steady himself and continue traveling. Now, he needed to see his grandfather more then ever, none of this was adding up and he only grew more frustated and confused.

Following Reynauld and Dismas, Moriarity soon saw that they had stopped in front of a camp of some sort. It looked abandoned and its owner missing. Was this a bandit tent? Dismas spent no time thinking about the whats and whys that The Heir was worrying about as he reached towards the tent to scavenge from it.

Surprisingly, Dismas came out of the scavenge with a heavier sack of gold coins. Stuffing this bag into his pocket for safekeepings, he looked back at Moriarity and motioned for him to come closer. In front of the group was a rusted metal gate with vines growing along it that lead into a new area.

"Alright everybody, lets gather up, I don't want to have go back here just to get someone because they got lost. Now, I ain't sure whats behind that gate, but I suggest we act rational here. Understand?"

Reynauld nods quietly as it was a simple thing to ask for when facing the unknown. Moriarity nodded along as he didn't think that Dismas lacked in commanding tactics for small groups.

The entire party walked through the gates and at the end was a clearing with a single chest and a view of the entire landscape with the family estate being seen quite a distance away. Suddenly, the party was jumped as out of the bushes was a large bandit with scars all over his chest and his clothing consisting of a green hoodhood and pants held up by two belts along with boots. In his sizable hands was a large rod with rope that seperated into many ropes with knots at the end. Behind such a large foe that was a few feet larger then Dismas or Reynauld was a small bandit. More skinnier and frailer this one also wore clothing reminscent of the first bandit but instead of twin knives instead used a musket.

Once again, Dismas was the first to react as Moriarity said to him, "Let Reynauld handle the bigger one, deal with that smaller one in the back!"

Dismas simply nodded steadying his aim before pulling the trigger and fired a shot at the Brigand Fusiler who clutched where he was shot, but he clearly was still standing as Reynauld stared down at the giant of a man before running up to smash the pommel of his sword against his head. Reynauld would be given for his trouble a lash from the cruel whip as the giant bandit was not amused and returned a punishing blow to The Crusader.

Dismas once again reacted, while the bigger bandit was distracted, he rolled to his side and with a clear aim at the Fusiler, he shot his flintlock and achieved a damaging headshot as the Fusiler remained dead on the floor with a hole between his eyes. Dismas grins at this, "Heh, looks like I still got it!"

Suddenly, he saw Reynauld flying back as the large man had attacked and sent the Crusader flying behind Dismas in a damaging blow. Reynauld slowly got up to his feet and ran forward to once again smash the pommel of his sword against the head of the large bandit. The bandit soon was seeing stars and dazed by the strike as Dismas runs at the large man and cut at him with his Dirk. He then rolled out of the way as Reynauld had charged right at the large man and slashed right at the man. Dismas charged from where he rolled off and stabbed the man right in the gut and left a bleeding wound for him to attend. As Reynauld took this opportunity to rush the large man and stab his entire sword through the head of the large bandit and ending the encounter.

 **"Prodigous size does not dissuade the skill of a sharpened blade."**

Moriarity looked around once more but that voice simply echoed throughout the woods as if there was no discernable source.

While Moriarity thought about it, Reynauld and Dismas were regaining their stances and salvaging gear. Reynauld found om the bandits a shovel alomg with a small pack of emeralds and a sack of gold. Dismas was cursing to himself as he found the chest locked, suddenly he remembered Moriarity's key. He looked over at The Heir and said, "Oi! Come on over here, kid. If my hunch is correct, I think I figured out why there's a skull at the end of that key of yours. Open this chest up."

Moriarity did so surprised that the key fit as he turned it and the chest opened as a response.

Inside were some strange items, a bottle of purple liquid with the words "Witch's Vial" inscribed on the side, a strange stone amulet that makes one feel almost lighter, and a bottle of holy water. Not the finest of treasures, but treasures nonetheless.

Dismas chuckles, "Of course, shape skeleton keys to actually be skeletons. Cute, I see the Keysmith had a sense of a humor."

"Finally, something to smile about..." Reynauld uttered under his breath as he seemed stressed from that hit from the whip.

Moriarity decided to leave Reynauld some peace and quiet as he looked ahead and peered at the estate in the distance. It wouldn't be long til he would soon be back to his old home. Memories of an innocent childhood rushed back into his head. He had attempted to forget much of his past. Of the people he grew close to... It made his heart ache, now that he was back, this ache lessened...

With the goal so clearly in front of the them, the group embarked for the estate to travel those last few miles.

 **"Thinking that this is the end of their journey, I wish those young fools luck. Little do they know, their work will only have begun."**

 **/Alright! That's the chapter where fighting happens! I'm placing this one down to see how well I can write a fight scene and handle the more combative elements of the game. Don't worry! Like the Ancestor said, this has only judt begun!** **/Next Chapter will be a town chapter! I plan to alternate between Town and Dungeon Chapters to both build character and move the story! Tell me what you think in the reviews! I'd love for some feedback!**


	3. Chapter 2: The Hamlet

The journey to the small town just before his family estate took only the span of a day and a half. By the time that the group of three arrived, the sun was already beginning to set. Luckily, along the way, they were able to forage and ration food supplies they received from the bandits as well as local plantlife.

Moriarity stared at the entrance to the town, ever since he was a child and even until now, he never truly learned of the name of this village. His parents and grandfather only ever referred to this place as The Hamlet. A simple name that he never questioned as a child nor did any of the residents ever correct him when he called or referred to the town by that name. He found that the charming mystery of the town's name added an atmosphere of wonder and amazememt to the unknown. To finding out what lay beyond one's understandings and expand their own bastion of knowledge. Now, with the dark clouds swirling about the area and the letter of his grandfather still fresh on his mind, he found there was now a crueler and darker side to curiosity. One never knows what lies in the darkness where others feared to tread.

His family surely had a way with flirting with misfortune. Walking up to the gates with Reynauld and Dismas, they would see a stagecoach parked to the leftmost side of the town. Stepping out of the stagecoach was the Caretaker, Caretaker Astrea. If there was one thing that he could admit was true about his Grandfather, it was that he truly lived in decadence. Hiring a woman after his late grandmother died, Caretaker Astrea was a steward both bright and kind to her peers. As a child, he often heard of rumors that Astrea and his grandfather shared something of a special relationship. Her crimson eyes were something, staring deep into a person's soul. It is quite apparent now that after all these years, she hadn't kept herself well kept. Her once pristine coat with many buttons were now dirtied and lacked proper maintenance, her skin once clean was now utterly marked with dirt, her long white hair was a tussled mess as she looked like she barely had any sleep.

It was Astrea who was the one to reach out to him with the letter, appearing outside his home one early morning afternoon. The sun had barely rose and already Astrea would be knocking on his door. The Heir still remembered how erratic Astrea shook before quietly giving him the envelope that contained both the letter and the key.

He wouldn't see Astrea again until the end of his recruitment campaign for the expedition. Apparently, the Caretaker had been keeping tabs on him for as soon as he elicited the help of both Reynauld and Dismas, Astrea would already be waiting outside his home and speaking to the horses.

Before Moriarity could question the long time servant of his family, Dismas beat him to the punch as the gruff Highwayman held the Caretaker by the neck of her shirt with his Dirk Knife clearly pointed and aimed at her neck. No doubt, the Highwayman had quite a few choice words to say to the Caretaker as he gave the old woman a glare that could melt steel.

"Ah, if it isn't our ever so mysterious driver, tell me. Tell me why I shouldn't gut you for leaving me to die in what seemed to be an obvious trap?"

The Caretaker raised her hands and flashing a crooked grin she replied back in a nervous tone, "G-Good sir, please understand that I do not have any sort of relations with bandits and the such. I didn't think they would ever be bold enough to attack a stagecoach with such intimidating gentlemen. Trust me, I was as surprised as you when they came for our lives."

"Likely story, strange how they left your life untouched while they were practically breathing down our necks. Though, perhaps you are going to tell me that this was simply a misfortunate coincidence? Your story is full of holes, how about I make your body match?" Dismas threatened, the knife he held looked ready to cut into flesh.

"Dismas! Stop!" The Heir yelled out, his voice now loud and filled with mustered authority.

"We did not come here to take out our ire on those who live upon these lands. We have come to see if what has troubled my grandfather so is indeed what he claims these so called evils to be are actually true. Until our lives are directly threatened by his actions, I implore that you refrain from harming Caretaker Astrea any further."

Dismas grunts for simply a moment before releasing the woman and pushed her to the floor. He then rejoined with Reynauld behind Moriarity as The Heir quietly offered his hand and helped the old Caretaker back up to her feet.

"I would like to take this chance to apologize, while we were never particularly close. I never would have wished upon you such a violent meeting. Please, accept my apology and if you have any ill will then direct it towards me instead of my friend. As leader of the expedition, I am the one responsible for his actions."

The Caretaker chuckled sadly as she dusted off her coat, she quietly took a step back and nodded. Her chuckle ending with a frown as she readjusted her cracked glasses.

"Worry not, Master Moriarity. Your friend had good reason to suspect me, I fear I may not be at my prime in terms of health. I fear my time as administrator of these lands have taken quite a toll on my mind. Nonetheless, it would be an embarrassment to my service to your family if I did not provide a warm welcome. Let me be the first to welcome you to The Hamlet. A small quaint town that I surely think you appreciated much as a child."

"Indeed, even after all this time, it hasn't changed much. Quite sad to see some have the buildings here have been left in clear disrepair, but it is even more of a tragedy to see that a once lively town like this has been victim to ruin. Are there still people who reside here?"

"Fortunately, there are, Master Moriarity. While many of the town's residents have left, those who still share a love for it as well as cherish this town still reside, though they are all gone for the moment. Bandits have become much of a problem and many of the current residents have evacuated until further notice, it will take some time before they return. For now, the only working buildings that I can show you that are functional are the barracks and my stagecoaches. Actually, speaking of which, my previous rounds as a stagecoach managed to bring two more passengers to this place. They claim that they are here for an expedition, might that be yours?"

"Yes, I found it more convenient if they made their way to this town rather then my location of residence. Better to meet here where I begin my investigations, so who might these two passengers be?"

"Better question, will I still be paid just as much as I was promised before all of this?" Dismas interrupted rudely before getting a swift slap to the back of his head by Reynauld. The Crusader shook his head at The Highwayman who silently cursed under his breath. The Highwayman would be left to tend to the harmed area as Reynauld nodded to Moriarity to continue his conversation.

Coughing softly to both clear her throat and regain proper control of the conversation. Looking back at The Heir she explained, "These two from what I can tell are not the sort of warriors that you currently have in your service, I think it better if you judge and evaluate them in your own senses."

The Caretaker then turned a corner as standing next to a stagecoach and looking through a few bags were two individuals. One wore the garb of a plague doctor though the colors of these garbs were of a motif of black and green. From the way the clothes looked on the person, the shape made it quite obvious that this plague doctor was female as she wore a belt with her garb that held both a small knife, a pouch, and a few green concoctions sealed off with a cork. Next to her would be a woman as clear as day wearing robes though these robes were accompanied with armor and hanging from her belt around her hip were a book and mace. Her head moved up to reveal more of her blonde locks as her clear sky blue eyes looked over at The Heir and his crew.

Dismas was the first to reply as it seems his reactions were ever the impeccable and highest of the group. "They don't look like much, are you sure they are mercenaries or are they additional we have to look over?" The Highwayman asked as he received yet another slap to the back of the head by his fellow companion.

"Do not mind his rude and rather brash behavior, he means to say that it is good to see others who might provide help on our quest." Reynauld said as Dismas growls and rubbed the back of his head yet again. Having a metal glove smack him wasn't the most pleasing of experiences and it was soon beginning to get on his nerves.

"I see, an odd companion you travel with. I feel I should clear up with you all that I am a traveling priest on a holy quest to spread the exploits of the Light to those yet to be under its saving graces. Once I have heard of a traveling crew in need of manpower and saw where this expedition was taking place, I knew deep down that this was the will of the Light. I have come to aid in your quest, sir knight. I also came with the goal of sharing with those here the beauty and awe that they are missing by not communing with the Light." The Vestal said in quite a zealous manner as her eyes shown with true and utter devotion.

"Ah, great... Another religious nut, just what the doctor ordered." Dismas mutters under his breath to avoid further conflicts with Reynauld, he already had enough with the Crusader as is.

"I see! Well, I welcome you with open arms! It is quite a pleasure to be able to work with another servant of the Light." Reynauld exclaimed with arms wide open.

"I too also find myself quite joyous to find another disciple of the Light within these parts. Now that I have taken a better look at you, are you perhaps a crusader? I heard your order was quick to disband once you have had your wars won against heretics."

"You are not wrong, our duty was the clear the land of those who went against the holy doctrine of the Light. Our battles were hard fought... Some more then others... In the end, I do not blame many in my order for taking their own paths, me being one of them." Reynauld said though the tone he spoke with became more solemn towards the end before he quickly looked up at the Plague Doctor.

"Enough about an order that once was, what of your companion here? What brings her here to a place far out from any major signs of civilization? I imagine there are no plagues about that we need to worry about?" Reynauld said even adding in a joke at the end. Dismas merely shakes his head, his arms were crossed and he was muttering something under his breath. The Heir saw this, this group was operating under stress and with stress comes the opportunity for one's inner demons to shine within the darkness. He saw much of it in Dismas' behavior and it seems even Reynauld and his discipline as a Crusader had their limits. Moriarity decided to keep quiet for now, no point in setting off a problem that he had barely an inkling of information to work off of.

He focused attention back onto the conversation at hand to catch the Plague Doctor performing an over the top entrance with a bow before speaking in a manner that one might use when hyping up a performer, "Aha! Now you ask the right questions, my armored friend! Both your grumpy friend and you should be glad that I have come! I am a plague doctor for the worst type of plague that has had its deathly grasp around the neck of humanity! Ignorance! Pure unbridled ignorance! Humanity is blind to the many dangers of the unseen foe of plain sight! Diseases and more, I wish to cure them all! I have come to answer this expedition, something that had been unearthed here! Maybe that will be the stepping stone for my goal!"

"I think I know why I had a bad feeling before, that's the talk of someone just wanting to go mad." Dismas said aloud and glaring at the Crusader next to him as if to dare him to try with his own hand already gripped around the handle of his knife.

"I implore you all to stay your blades, good sirs!" The Plague Doctor said rushing between Dismas and Reynauld before anything truly violent could happen. She had her hands right on their chests to push them away from each other if need be and used her whole body as a method of blocking any attacks with seemingly no thought into her own well-being.

"If there is one thing I abhor more then ignorance then it's the unnecessary spilling of one's precious life nectar! Blood should stay in one's body, not spilled out onto the floor like cheap wine after a night of drinks!"

"Get out of the way, kid. That crusader is going to get it! He's been getting on my nerves for too long!" Dismas says, glaring over at Reynauld whose facial features were blocked by the helm he wore.

"No! I swore that as a practitioner of medicine, I will not support any sort of unwarranted violence! I implore with you once more to remove yourself from this state of mind! Surely, you do not truly wish to gun down another who doesn't deserve such a fate!"

Dismas glared straight the Plague Doctor who in turn stared right back, the Highwayman was gripping his knife tightly. A dark look could be seen in his eyes as he stared down the Plague Doctor before he finally loosened his grip on the knife and said, "Fine! If it gets you off my back, now get the hell away from me before you regret it."

"I am sorry to disappoint your expectations, but you seem to be under the effect of a debilitating ailment! One that I simply cannot ignore lest I sully my duty as a medicine woman." The Plague Doctor said as she took her hand off his chest but now faced him with her hands on her hips.

"You must be truly crazy if you think you are going to be touching me at all because of some supposed "ailment" that you see. You know what? I think I'll bloody humor you just to see where this goes! Tell me! What ails me so that you so stubbornly get in my way?!" Dismas said raising his tone with the Plague Doctor as it was obvious that he didn't take too kindly to her rather forward advance upon him.

"You suffer from a plague that I have yet to truly conquer! You suffer from a scar upon your heart!"

"What?" Dismas said confused by her response.

"What scar?"

"It's quite obvious! You suffer from rash sadness of the sudden kind! Tell me! Have you any dead relatives or loved ones? I may be able to pinpoint your tragedy to theirs."

"Screw this, I'm not dealing with this right now. Hey, is there a bar around here?" Dismas said turning his head over towards the Caretaker.

The Caretaker fumbled about and was visibly attempting to recompose herself, she looks to Dismas and stammers, "I-It's right next these stagecoaches here, j-just enter and be s-sure to p-pay."

"Yeah, yeah, don't you go worrying yourself to death. I don't plan on robbing any of you today. You all probably have nothing worth taking at all to be honest. I just want to get drunk and not deal with any of this shit." Dismas says before walking off with his hands tucked into the pockets of his coat. Sadly enough for him, the Plague Doctor followed after him now warning him of the dangers of drinking alcohol while in an emotionally unstable state eliciting an exasperated groan from the Highwayman.

A moment went by in silence as the remaining four watched the two walk off. The silence wouldn't break until the Heir spoke. "Interesting... Anyways, now that you have shown these two, you mentioned something of a barracks? May you show me where they are located? I would like to examine these barracks to make sure they are of satisfactory living conditions for the mercenaries that accompany me."

"Of course, Master Moriarity! It is well within your rights to ask that of me. Please, come this way." Caretaker Astrea said as she motioned for the Heir to follow her as she moved further down the alleyway where there stagecoaches were stored until she came upon a door that lead into a two story house. Opening the door carefully, she pushed it open and once more motioned for the group to come inside.

Entering the barracks, the group were lead through the building and were given a view as to what the rooms looked like. Each room was a simple room with the walls and floor being made from wood and each room held in it a simple bed along with a few drawers and a chest to store their items and clothes. Beyond that, each room was identical to the rest.

The Heir soon enough deemed that while these rooms weren't the most luxurious, they still were enough to complete the task ahead of him. Briefly walking up to the Caretaker who was currently explaining the history and details behind the building, he stopped her by clearing his throat and said, "While it is very well and good that you are able to provide info and a place for my expedition to rest, I'm afraid I must cut this short and respectfully ask if I may speak with my Grandfather. No doubt, he has much to speak to me about the state of the family mansion, I imagine. It would be rude of me to keep him waiting, considering that he asked for me in his letter."

The Caretaker gained a sad look upon the mention of the Ancestor, with tears trailing down from her eyes, she wiped them off and said, "I am afraid to say this, but your Grandfather had passed away after sending for your help. Done in by a self inflicted gunshot to the head... I-I can barely believe it myself.. I-I am truly sorry for your loss, M-Master Moriarity."

The Heir took a step back, the very notion that his grandfather was dead stunning him. While he held no love for his Grandfather and his habits, he knew deep down that his Grandfather was not a bad man nor did he think that the old man deserved death. Being shunned for being so distant with people, but to take his own life? Memories of the talk he had with Reynauld and Dismas made their way to the surface of his mind. Family... His was never the same after the argument between his father and grandfather, deep down he felt that if given the chance, he may have slowly seen his grandfather in a better light, maybe even think that he too wanted the same. Maybe if he had kept better contact with him, this could have been prevented?

Before these dark thoughts took a turn for the worst, the Heir felt the familiar gesture of a hand being placed upon his shoulder. A gentle shake would wake him from his thoughts as he looked right at Astrea and said, "I should be the one to apologize for your loss, you were much closer to my grandfather then I. His death must be quite hard on you, to be honest I am surprised of his death, he always seemed to have this underlying will to defy forces beyond his control."

"It is kind of you to say, Master Moriarity. You are much like your Grandfather, a kind heart hidden within yourself. I only hope that you may suceed where he had fallen. The estate never was the same that fateful day."

"So you say, is it true? About the evil power he had unearthed? Was it truly true?"

"I know you seem skeptic about it, dear Master Moriarity. Believe me when I say that your grandfather did unleash the wrath of something. Some horrible beast, living at the estate has become an impossible task, one that will stay that way unless one decides to clear out the evils that haunt its very grounds." Caretaker Astrea said with a visibly stressed look when mentioning the estate.

Before Moriarity could inquire more about the state of the family estate, he heard the smashing of glass followed by a door being kicked open. Dismas stood at the doorway with the Plague Doctor in tow. The Highwayman looked visibly stressed, it wasn't no surprise considering the company that followed him as he was currently in the middle of being scolded by said Plague Doctor. Not only that, but he was also followed by a new stranger entirely. It was a man of sorts who wore something similar to Astrea though it was much darker in color and followed a more darker motif. His head was lacking of any hair, in terms of facial hair, he possessed a beard. Though, his most defining trait would be his eternal grin, a hallmark of a man of great optimism or a man who was close to losing it.

Astrea nods at their arrival as she walks over to the newcomers. "I see you've met my brother. I'm sorry I failed to mention this sooner, but I am not the only Caretaker in this town. I do not possess such strength to carry the burden alone. This here is my brother, Caretaker Ludwig. As you can see, even with the two of us, I fear that we are at our wits end. It is a blessing indeed that you decided to heed the letter written by your Ancestor and returned. Also, a note of warning, while Ludwig is a Caretaker, I fear there may be times that he needs to relax. I say this in advance in case there are times that you come at an impasse because of his needs."

"It's fine, I can only imagine what the two of you went through considering that the shenanigans of my grandfather have gotten us into this mess. It is understandable if you need a moment to yourself every now and then and I rather encourage it. Think of it as your just due for dealing with my family for so long, we Moriarity men and women aren't the easiest bunch to keep track of." The Heir said looking at the Ludwig who looked ready to puke and was for all intensive purposes outright drunk.

"You are kind indeed, young Master. Now, if you will excuse me, I must get Ludwig back to our simple abode. He just finished the finances today and decided to help himself to one to many drinks. I wish you a pleasant evening with your companions."

Astrea then carried her brother out without another word said and closed the door behind her leaving the Heir with his expedition once more.

"I'm retiring to bed, I hope you don't mind my choices, but right now I have a headache and it wasn't from a drop of alcohol." Dismas said walking right past Moriarity without a second look as he headed for one of the rooms and slammed the door behind him.

Reynauld shook his head before looking at Moriarity saying, "As much as I dislike the way that he is conducting himself, he is right about needing rest. That trek to reach the town wasn't without its hardships. I too need a moment to gather my conviction if that is alright with you."

"It is of no problem to me, Dismas and you have both worked hard to keep me safe, you both deserve a night of rest. We'll tackle the estate tomorrow when our strength is gathered and our conviction is without cracks. In the meantime, I will take the time to get to know our two newest members of the expedition."

Reynauld nods before walking off to set up home in one of the rooms as the Heir looked towards the two and said, "Now that we have the time, I would like to know you two a bit better. May I perhaps know your names?"

"Of course, I am Emily though I do mind if you simply refer to me as Vestal, my duty to the Light is not to be recognized but to serve as its healing hand against the darkness." Emily said unhooking her book from the belt around her waist to review prayers.

"You may know me as Vecsi! A strange name, but who has time to consider the importance of a name when there are many diseases to treat out there!" The Plague Doctor said excitedly already thinking of what she could come across.

The Heir nods and smiles as he says, "I see, it is nice to meet you two. From what I will see, we will need healing of all types for the dangers ahead."

With a turn he looked behind him out the window and at the sight of his former home in the distance atop a cliff.

"I fear that soon, I will know the full extent of my ancestor's failings... I only hope that they don't run too deep. I hope my spirit is enough to face this supposed "Darkest Dungeon"."

 **"Skeptical now, know this, my dear descendant... Whether you conquer the Darkest Dungeon or you are conquered by it, know that you will face more hardship then you could ever know. Such is the fate for all who decide to face the perils of the Darkest Dungeon."**

 **/So ends the second chapter into this story! I hope it is of satisfactory for anyone who reads this! Now if you are wondering why there are two Caretakers, I use the LW or Love Works reskin mods on Steam! I of course found it interesting of making the reskins into characters alongside the vanilla villagers. Maybe to add some character moments that I feel was lacking in the Hamlet! Anyways, Moriarity is in for quite a ride! Also, be sure to add any criticism that you might have about this story! I'm always looking for better ways to improve the story as I write! Cheers!**


	4. Chapter 3: First Step Towards Madness

-The Heir-

Morning came soon enough and with it came the sun, a thought haunting the mind of the Heir as he awoke would be who would live past day one to see such an occurrence again. This was the first time he had to ponder on such a subject, the expeditions he had before were only with the risk of his life, now he was risking the lives of men and women. He hoped deep down that this was all just a cruel joke, just a mere obstacle such as a bandit encampment or an infestation of rapid animals. Of course, he knew that wouldn't be the case. He now wondered what he was getting himself into, the threat must've been truly dangerous to make people leave their homes, to take a toll on the minds of men and women, and to even make his stubborn Grandfather commit suicide.

Not only did that terrify him enough as is, he was expected to lead a group of men and women into his estate where an unknown danger awaited. He wasn't a leader, far from even being compared to an exemplary one. Was he even fit to be the one lead this? He didn't doubt those he traveled with. Reynauld possessed courage, enough to stand against any that got in the way of what he believed went against what was good. Dismas possessed cunning, the Highwayman could practically run circles around any who tried to beat him in a witty game or a deadly round of gun slinging. From his short time with their newest members, he found that Emily possessed a faith strong enough to keep her going, even through what seemed to be a hopeless situation. Vecsi held held a morbid curiosity, while not a trait that he found particularly appealing in some cases, it is a catalyst that separates him from the rest. What did he have that his ancestor saw in him? He was but a child who turned his back on his family for a better life, a child who no longer wished to acknowledge the actions of those that came before him.

His eyes once again looked out the window and peer out towards the sight of the family estate within the distance. A home now turned into an ominous fortress of unspeakable evil. An evil he must face soon enough, he said a soft prayer to himself. It had been some time since he indulged in the luxury of praying, he was going to need as much strength as he could muster, both physically and mentally.

-Reynauld-

Reynauld awoke in cold sweat once more, he had suffered that nightmare again. A nightmare where he walked along a path dirtied with the blood of heretics, the path was dark hid within it abominations that threatened the Light. This path went on until he was at the end, a clearing that was bathed in light, he remembered it vividly. A small humble cabin, the soft kiss of her loving lips, the shushing of the cries of a newborn, gently rubbing a golden band around his finger. In front of him was a dream, a glimmer of a previous life that he fought for, but he could never return to. He reached out for the clearing as he saw two figures stand there waving at him, one taller with a slim body, one that he once held close to whisper loving promises and vows. The other figure was more smaller and masculine, the whispers of a father telling his son many things, the stories that allowed the son to sleep, the promises of teaching of many things, a promise that he would one day return. He felt his hand fall back to his side limp, he could never return. Just as the path was stained with the blood of heretics, so was he. He was no longer a husband or father, he was now a crusader, a warrior bathed in the blood of heretics in service of the Light.

He turned around, but as soon as he stepped away, he felt something odd. Pounding against his armor was water, it was raining.

 _"Reynauld..."_

 _"Where are you, my love?"_

 _"You promised..."_

Reynauld heard ghastly voices call out to him, turning around once more, he did not see the clearing. Instead, he saw in front of him a graveyard with only two graves and their tombstones. They were dead, Reynauld felt his knees weaken. For a moment, the crusader had fallen and what was left was a sad pitiful man who had nothing left, but the memories of a life once valued and the thoughts of what could have been.

Shaking his head, Reynauld focused back onto the reality of the waking world. His sword and faith was needed, there would be a time for tears and sorrows much later, now however was a time for a quiet resolve. Standing up, the man looked over to the neatly stacked pile of his crusader armor and began to dress. Another day calls for the Light, he would be the one to answer the calls of duty.

-Dismas-

The Highwayman had been awake for some time, restful sleep was a rare occurrence, he was either drunk or haunted when he rested most of the time. He however preferred a hangover rather then the echoing pain he felt now. Unlike a hangover where he could simply just ignore it, this wasn't anything that could be solved. Who could solve murder? Dismas sighed to himself, he was no stranger to murder as it was a means to an end. He could always ensure to himself that the people he killed genuinely deserved such a fate. How could he justify killing a mother and their child? How can he claim that was for the good of others? Dismas wasn't going to sugarcoat it for himself, he wasn't the best human being alive, that title belonged to someone like Reynauld or that priest woman he never bothered learning the name of.

In many ways, he let that day change him forever, he could never look at himself again the same way. His hands stained in the blood of the innocent and he's the one still breathing, it was a maddening experience. Now, he was here with an expedition about some old man claiming it had been overtaken by some dark evil. He came to deal with bandits, people he knows are without redemption. As long as he could gun down people just like those, just like himself, then he was alright with whatever happens next.

-Emily-

She felt it ever since she had arrived in this place, a dark presence in the air and choking the wills of mortal men and women. It had only been through her prayers that she found the strength to stand against this evil presence. She could only wonder about the people who have lived in this land for so long and how they could handle such a presence in the air. Indeed, her coming was fated by the Light and only through her trust in the Light would she be victorious for the campaign ahead of her. She had been entrusted by that Moriarity character with the group's safety and healing. She did not know much of Moriarity nor did she particularly trust Dismas from what she had seen of him. A strange and sometimes rude man, one who had allowed himself to be swallowed by sin instead of repenting to the Light. She did find a friendship with Vecsi as the strange woman fought for a good cause albeit through eccentric means and the crusader who she had known for a short time was a good man and another fellow servant of the Light.

Her mind had been made up, she would face this darkness not alone, but with her new found allies. Even if a few of them were dripped in sin, it was the nature of the Light and her duty to forgive those who had been scorned and lead them to a brighter path. As Vestal of the Light, her duty was clear and her path highlighted amongst the darkness. With the swift action of putting on her armor as well as arming herself, she was ready to face any evil that threatens her.

-Vecsi-

"Sleep? Who needs sleep when there was work to be done? My old professor always used to say that to me. Bless his old soul that's no longer with us." Vecsi thought to herself as she quietly brewed up a new concoction of chemicals.

She had been awake since the early morning, excitement ran through bones or maybe that was the new vapors she had recently put together. Nonetheless, she was stimulated and considering that she had a plethora of plagues to cure, she was going to need that energy. She pulled up list as it had some words she had managed to scribble on as to not forget some of her goals and milestones.

 **Plague Doctor List**

 **-Cure the disease of Human Ignorance**

 **-Cure the disease of Human Violence**

 **-Cure potions made by self**

 **-Be sure to leave instructions for how to cure poison potions made by self in trust worthy hands in the event that self decides to rip open the chest cavities of all those she currently travels with to understand their biology**

 **-Buy more glass bottles - Experiment #605 requires more testing**

She silently cursed herself, the rest of the writing on her list was too scribbled to make out as only the first few items on her list were readable. She wondered if there was a general store nearby where she could possibly buy some bottles, Experiment #605 should probably be tested before any long term consequences could be completed, plus finding newer test subjects were simply too hard in this foreign environment.

As she looked at her letter she found that the rays of sunlight were on her, this meant a field test!

She happily threw on what finished concoctions she had along with her handy knife, one never knew when a knife would be useful. Maybe she could ask that Moriarity person if it was okay to cut any bits off if she found any that interested her.

-Full Group-

The group had assembled outside the barracks, each of them holding a face of confidence of the journey ahead. The only one who looked the least bit concerned was the very one leading this expedition. On their way towards the general store now run by one of the Caretakers, Moriarity had half the mind to run. To throw the expectations of leadership onto either Reynauld or even Dismas. Those two who had seen and fought against conflict and came out with their lives intact, not some child who ran off to have adventure. No matter how much he wanted to run, he just couldn't, he had brought them here and he deserved to face whatever they faced. He had brought them into this mess and it was his duty to see them through lest he lacked even the pride for that.

Approaching the counter, he looked ahead and towards the man drenched in robes that smelled of alcohol and sweat, Caretaker Ludwig and his enteral and mad smile.

"What shall the young master have, hmm? While I am sure that with the blood of your dear Grandfather running through your veins that you'll suceed. It wouldn't hurt to put stock into supplies, yes? Trust me, every crumb of bread to the lost drop of holy water will be needed to satisfy the hunger for souls of those that dwell within the dungeon. I am not attempting to scare you, merely prepare you. You may not believe it, but people might be less tense if they knew the family of Moriarity is still ruling over these lands. Trust me, its hard to run this place, when everybody thinks its going to be swallowed up by the sea. The old Master dying didn't help in the slightest. Try to stay alive at least for a while when they come back. People need hope, with hope comes a functioning town with economy and such."

The Heir nodded, he understood what the Caretaker was saying to a degree. He wasn't too sure how hopeful the Hamlet's citizens would be just because he was here, but whatever sort of peace of mind he can provide, he will attempt to deliver. Looking over at the wares available to him, he saw normal equipment such as bandages and even bottles of holy water. However one sort of object stood out, a box of sorts with something scratched onto the side. Looking back at Ludwig, he asked, "Hmm, excuse me, but what is that box here? It doesn't seem normal nor do I know of any weapon that utilizes it."

"Oh? I see the young master has taken an interest in his Ancestor's items. Yes, you are correct, this does go with a weapon as your assumption goes. Though, I do know much about it other then its supposed to go with a weapon called "The Shrapnel". I've no idea where this weapon might be, your Ancestor only ever said that it, went missing a long time ago."

"A shame indeed, I can only imagine what I might face when leading my group into the dungeon below. I hope I end up having the strength I need to lead. For now, supplies will have to make up for experience."

"Excuse me, if we may pipe in? We can help in that endeavor." Said Emily as both her and Vecsi walked up to place two bottles on the counter.

"We couldn't help but overhear about the talk of supplies and decided that we should do our parts in this as well. From Emily comes a bottle of her sparkle religion, from me comes a product of science and questionable medicine! A bottle of antivenom! Let this be known right now that this is perfectly safe to drink, if you by any chance feel queasy, nauseous, sickly, or even dying, be sure to tell me so that I may correct the next batch to be less toxic to the lungs, kidney, and bladder of your bodies." Vecsi said as she had taken out a scrap of paper with the side effects and names of affected areas on the body to be sure.

"Alright, calling it now. There's no way in hell I'm drinking whatever the fuck she pulled out of her pocket. I'd rather take my chances with poison, at least I can be sure it'll kill me without turning my organs inside out." Dismas commented from where he stood. He glared over at the Plague Doctor who was now scribbling on the back of her scrap of paper.

The mad woman hummed to herself, she then looked over at Dismas and said, "Don't worry! I'll find some way to cure what ails you, perhaps I should start adding clam oil to my mixtures. Would you be more pleasant if I just spiked any of your food or drinks with my medicine?"

"Inject anything into me and I won't hesitate to shoot you in the head."

"Alright! Note to self, Subject tends to get hostile when honest about intentions. Better results may be achieved through subterfuge and lies."

The Heir cleared his throat before saying, "You know, maybe we should focus on the expedition first. Maybe Dismas is simply a bit stressed because of our jobs. I'm sure he'd lighten up if we do it and you don't spike anything of his. Please, do not spike any of our food or drinks. I can assure you that it is just stress."

Satisfied, the Plague Doctor backed down and simply went back to mumbling to herself right behind Dismas as they had all agreed to the positioning tactics brought up by the Heir, though Dismas was slowly hating the fact that the possibly crazed woman was behind him.

Not wanting things to escalate from bad to worse he quickly bought the supplies needed by his party, a bundle of torches, twelve pounds of food, another bottle of holy water, two keys, two shovels, and two medicinal herbs.

Before even the littlest of a comment would come out of the mouth of his companions, he had already been budging them from the Hamlet to the old family estate as he at lest wanted to make it to past the gate before the group dissolved into madness.

The estate looked worst for wear, the front door had been boarded up and partially blocked by debris, the only way in from this point was a hole in the wall that lead down a corridor, one that was also barely lit as well. Lighting a torch, the Heir looked over to Reynauld who nodded and walked down the corridor with his sword in hand. The ominous aura was practically pressing against their minds as walking down this barely lit corridor was stressful as is and showed quite clearly for the party. Along the corridor, they came across a sort of torch holder that held a still functioning and unused torch. Reynauld simply grabbed it and tossed it to the Heir to hold onto as they continued down the ever so ominous corridor.

Trouble soon enough arose as they entered the next room for inside were two undead abominations! Two skeletons holding clubs agressively clacked their bones as they saw our party. Reynauld disgusted by this sight took a step back while Vecsi took a step forward in morbid interest. The two collided into each other under the dim lighting of the room and soon as a result of their panicked surprise had changed positions! Reynauld was now behind Dismas as Vecsi was now face to face with the undead!

Dismas reacted quickly as he usually did as he raised his flintlock pistol and aimed it at the undead, he wouldn't mind shooting the Plague Doctor in his sights, but decided that it wasn't worth any of the trouble.

He dealt a damaging blow hitting both of the skeletons square in the chest, though it seemed what magic that animated these dead bones was strong as it seemed to have only done minimal damage and cracked pieces of their ribs.

Emily now took her turn and with much religious belief in her tone said a prayer from the tome she held in her hand as she raised her mace and a bolt of holy power came crackling through the ceiling and smashed into the first Bone Rabble. From the attack was left only a pile of bones as the Vestal had struck a final blow upon the offending undead!

Giggling all the while, Vecsi had no thought in her head to head back behind Dismas but instead ran forward in mad glee screaming out as she attacked with her knife, "I'M GOING TO SEE WHAT EXACTLY MAKES YOU TICK!" Her slash went right across its chest and even knocked it down to its knees as the skeleton was surprised that such a small woman held such strength in her arms.

This left an opening to be exploited, but Reynauld sadly knew that he couldn't do anything from his current position. He tapped Dismas on the shoulder and the Highwayman nodded as he allowed the Crusader to walk in front of him as the undead got back up to its feet to attack.

The undead decided to attack with it's club as it struck Vecsi in chest by the blunt object obviously doing damage and harming the Plague Doctor.

As it snarled at the group, it found itself dead as Dismas shot it directly in the neckbone causing the skeleton to fall apart until it was a mess of bones on the ground. With that final shot came an end to the first conflict of many more within the Darkest Dungeon or at the very least its ruins.

With the conflict ended, the group decided to catch their breath and wits within the very same room. Reynauld walked over to the chest that seemed to be in the room. Wondering what could have been so important to have been guarded by skeletons, he opened the chest. Inside the chest, he found what looked to be a shovel alongside a bag of gold and two busts of a man he did not recognize. Taking each item out with care, he brought them over to the Heir who accepted the items and placed them into his storage to keep safe.

All attention turned to the wounded member of their group, currently tended by Emily, Vecsi was quietly giggling with excitement as one could almost hear the ramblings and theories that she went on about.

Dismas grimaced and shook his head, he then turned towards the Heir and said, "Don't suppose you regret bring this unhinged woman along? I hardly think that she is even a real doctor, let alone possess any sort of real medical experience."

The Heir sighed, looked at Dismas quietly before saying, "I understand your concerns, while I do agree that she isn't all there, she is going to have to do until we can get a influx of other warriors to aid us. My contracts go wide and far, but that means they have to travel wide and far to get here. Understand that there is no other choice for me at the moment."

"Fine, but if she so much as make a comment about cutting me open, know that she might actually do the deed and that I defended myself."

The Heir still wrapping his head around the notion of real walking skeletons nodded as he wished to not summon the ire of the Highwayman.

After tending to Vecsi the best that she could, she concluded that unless they are back at the Hamlet that the danger of her wounds could only be stabilized lest she use her faith to heal which was only truly strong in times of combat. She made her way over to Reynauld who was currently disposing of the bones as a soft prayer could be heard whispered by the Crusader if one was calm and listened hard enough. Opening her tome, she spoke a small prayer before looking at Reynauld and and said, "What horrid creatures, even more horrid is the fiend who makes use of the dead for their dark desires. Have the person no respect for the dead? Such blatant acts go against the Light and all it stands for."

"You are not wrong there, this is the type of evil that I left home to fight against." Reynauld said after a moment of silence. His hands gripped the handle of his sword tightly before loosening a bit and his tense stance relaxed.

Looking out at the party, he looked right at the Heir who caught and met his stare before nodding softly. Nodding back, he readied his sword and announced to the party it was now time to move on before the light in their torches leave them stumbling in the dark. Once again, they reassumed the party positions that they were each assigned and moved on into the next corridor.

As soon as they walked upon this new corridor, they found in front of them a large pile of stone that blocked their path. The Heir pulled out a shovel to begin clearing the debris as he had the group keep watch as he cleared the way. The job took no more then about half an hour before the group was able to finally continue. Lighting another torch, they walked down the corridor not knowing if something lurked in the darkness they did not yet check. At the end of the corridor stood two more skeletons except one looked more hardened and carried a sword. At the end was a woman dressed in strange robes as her busom was displayed out for all to see in its glory. She also wore what looked to be a strange metal helmet of sorts and held in her hand some sort of staff or wand.

Dismas reacted quickly and shot at the offending crowd in front of him as he was not so eager to be killed by skeletons and some mad women both on and off his team. His bullets were ever so accurate as each of his shot hit its mark, a talent that he could boast about much later when he had ale in his hands and wasn't at the mouth of death.

Vecsi grinned behind her bird like mask, she pulled out a curious ball shaped object and chucked it over at the end of the other group. As it flew, it exploded releasing a sort of mist as it startled the strange woman working with the skeletons as she pushed a skeleton out of her way as she was now much closer to the front.

Emily took her turn as she flipped open the pages of her tome once more and spoke a righteous prayer a she raised her mace once again into the air to call down the the judgement of the Light. Her mace fizzled out from the disturbance of a dark energy as the two skeletons rushed forward at Dismas and Reynauld and with their weapons wounded the two men, not enough to kill them, but enough to wound and damage their bodies.

Reynauld decided to return the favor, his hand reached down to his side as he grabbed hold of a parchment and with a show of might flashed the parchment at his opponents. The woman was blocked from seeing it by her skeleton as it took visible damage from witnessing the holy scripture as the Crusader stored it back into his pouch.

Dismas followed up the attack as he aimed down his sights and shot to kill at the group as he shot out a barrage of bullets. The bullets hit their mark damaging the woman and sending her two skeleton companions flying apart as they were now merely chipped bones on the floor.

The strange woman then surprised the group as they heard an eerie chant come from the woman before a black bolt come racing out of her staff and struck Emily all over her body as she didn't look hurt physically, but her eyes dulled for a moment before she snapped out of it. Her face now held a more stressed and frustrated look as she shook her head a bit at random intervals to regain focus focus.

Vecsi took this moment to finish a drawn out fight, with much curiosity over what just happened, she rushed out from behind Dismas to slash at the woman with her knife. Dealt with a fatal blow, the woman crumpled to the ground with a pained scream as it seems things were now calming down as silence once more engulfed the narrow passageways they traveled along. On the corpse of the woman, the party found what looked to be another bag of gold accompanied by a singular painting as well as two pieces of deeds to land.

The Heir ushered everyone in the group into the next room as to avoid further unwarranted attacks. His eyes raced around and scanned the area behind him before slamming the door shut. It was truly a blessing that there wasn't any other abominations waiting within the room they were now in.

Moriarity was worse for wear, each encounter they've come across was something he could have never have planned for. Skeletons reanimated, crazed madmen consulting with the dead and wielding black magic, and the constant weight that could be felt in his head and smashing his sanity into small pieces.

He allowed his gaze to look over at his group to take in his group's status. He needed to see if there was a necessary need to retreat and call this expedition a fail. His eyes first fell onto Reynauld who was currently keeping his eyes trained on the door located on the other side of the room. His hands were tightly gripping the handle of his long sword and his armor was beaten in on a few spots that had been hit. Dismas was off in a corner keeping to himself, he had his flintlock and dirk out ready for a fight as he seemed to be breathing heavily a bit. Vecsi was practically the healthiest of the party, though he was worried by the giggling that came from the Plague Doctor as he feared that she had already lost it before this expedition. Emily was praying to herself in the middle of the room next to Vecsi, her religious fervour clear as she spoke her prayers quickly in a disturbed manner as if to cast aside some heavy weight.

He decided to let the group recover and slowly hain back their faculties as he began to quietly flip through a journal he kept on hand. Once used to document his days, he now uses it to sketch down maps and footnotes. So far, from what he was able to gather from the Caretakers and his own expedition, they had explored about three of maybe seven or eight rooms.

He began to make notes of interesting or curious objects that he came across.

With that, time moved forward with each member of the party doing their own individual task to collect themselves once more. It wouldn't be until Moriarity received a firm shove that he snapped out from his mapping of the ruins they have been through so far. Dismas stood looking down aat him grimly, his arms were crossed as he said to the Heir, "Get up, there's some things I need to be clear with you about these ruins."

Moriarity stood already prepared to receive a dose of his the Highwayman's lack of positivity.

"Yes? What about these ruins? If it's about the monsters we've faced so far, know that I did not see such creatures being here. I am terribly sorry if this has been something of a downside to you. I am willing to pay you your cut by the end-" Moriarity attempted to say only to get an even sterner look from the Highwayman.

Deciding that shutting up was for the best, he nods and motions for Dismas to speak his part.

"Look, I scouted up ahead aand the room ahead of us holds some treasure from what I can see from the cracks, the room located to our right has some curious objects here and there though, I didn't have much time to examine them, but from what I saw, either room is filled with enemies."

"Wait?! Are you saying that you went out there? Alone!? Why?! You could've been hurt or worse killed!"

"Don't you think I know that, kid? Normally, I don't go out of my way for other people, but considering the current mood of the party at the moment. Anything to keep us from shooting and stabbing each other in the back is good enough for me. Besides, you looked like you were panicking in the corner. Thought to give you some piece of mind."

The Heir nodded taking in the words of the Highwayman before smiling and saying quietly, "Thank you, I appreciate what you did. I truly do."

"Sure, sure, just don't mess this up, kid. There's only so much that can be done from my end." Dismas said before returning to his corner to calm down and relax.

Quickly, the Heir added new notes into his map before placing hsi journal back into his bag and clapped his hands together to get the attention of everybody.

"Everyone! I have news, from what reports I have from Dismas who had been scouting the areas ahead, I can conclude that there will be enemies up ahead. A conflict is bound to happen and I wish to get the party's votes on whether to retreat or continue on. I value your lives so, but I wish for you all to make your choices as a group." The Heir said looking upon each of their faces or the ones that he could actually see the face of.

"Like I said, don't mess this up. Since you look pretty confident, I assume you won't be screwing me over. I'm in." Dismas said before quietly crossing his arms.

"I too am in! There's still the chance that something up ahead might help with my pursuit of the cure! I shall stay to fight alongside Dismas!" Vecsi said as she stood next to Dismas. This illicited a groan as the Highwayman looked towards the Vestal and Crusader for their answers as he wished not to be left alone with the Plague Doctor.

Soon enough, Reynauld stood forward with his sword in hand as he said, "I swore to fight alongside you as you did me. I shall honor that as well as fulfill my duty! I do not plan to leave until each fowl creature in here is dealt with accordingly."

The Vestal was last, she looked around at the group before looking back at her tome. She then looked up at Moriarity before saying with a smile, "It would be a diservice to the Light if I deicded to abandon our quest. Count on me to look after you us now serve the Light as is our duty!"

The Heir nodded and with confidence renewed they set off ahead to first deal with this treasure room that Dismas had described. Lighting a torch and leaving them with only seven, they traveled down the corridor. Upon the way, they come across a pack with supplies, sadly though, Reynauld suddenly ran forward and scooped whatever was inside into his personal pack. He then simply whistles and continues walking down the corridor as if nothing had happened. Too tired and focused on other subjects, the rest of the group simply followed the Crusader after witnessing his rather odd behavior. With the torches losing light again, the Heir lit another torch as they reached the door and walked into the room prepared for a fight.

Standing in front of the group would be a half naked man wearing the same garb as the crazy woman they had fought a few moments a while ago, though his weapon was not a staff was clawed gauntlets. Strangely enough, there was also another of the crazed women as the group saw in front of her a skeleton holding a sword further reinforcing that these humans worked with the undead.

That meant nothing to the Plague Doctor as she tossed a curious device at the crazed cultist woman knowing that she could cast black magic of the sorts. The crazed cultist woman would be stunned by such a blast as it sent her flying towards the front of their her group making her an easier target for Reynauld or Dismas.

Speaking of Dismas, he had his pistol aimed down at the group hoping to hit then all with the pull of a trigger. Sadly enough, all his bullets failed to hit their mark as the cultist man ran in front of the cultist woman and with his spiked gauntlets delivered a damaging blow to the chest of Dismas and leaving his with a bleeding wound. That wouldn't be all as the skeleton slashed dealing a sizable amount of damage to the Plague Doctor who was struck by the sword.

Emily then took her turn as she assessed the damage of her companions before deciding to recite a prayer from her tome to deliver a healing light upon Vecsi and her wounds. Flesh would be mended and while Vecsi personally wasn't a religious person, she still thanked whatever the Light was.

Reynauld then had a go as he pulled his holy scripture from where he stored it and shone it at the vile fiends in front of him. The very skin of these humans would be burnt by the holy writings of the Light as he stored it back into his pouch that he carried around for it.

Vecsi then reacted and slashed at the cultist woman to prevent the black magic that she had seen prior. Unfortunately, the woman simply sidestepped and avoided the attack altogether as Vecsi returned behind Dismas as the cultist woman chanted and shot out a black bolt at the Highwayman. Dismas simply moved his head to the left as the bolt barely touched him. "Heh, hell would have to been frozen over if you think you are going to hit hit me with that trick anytime soon!"

With his flintlock loaded, he aimed and shot to once again hit all his opponents and do some damage. With luck turning around in his favor, Dismas was able to deliver some helpings of damage to the crowd of opponents in front of him.

Emily could now go again as she looked into her tome and prayed as a healing light was now bestowed upon Dismas to repair his flesh though his bleeding remained.

"Well, would you look at that. I guess you priests are good for more telling me I'm making bad decisions." Dismas commented. Though, this comedic comment ended with him once again getting punched in the gut by spiked gauntlets as Vecsi recieved another sword slash across her chest though she was not dead yet.

Reynauld stood forward looking down his foes as he ran towards his opponents. Wit the simple flick of the wrists, he delivered a sword slash right at the cultist man and soon enough a cut up corpse would soon be all that was left of the man.

Vecsi saw her opportunity to do some damage of her own as she ran out and towards the woman to jab her nice knife into her gut. She then violently pulled the knife out and kicked the cultist woman to the floor who was dead upon reaching it.

Dismas saw his targets were now of a single skeleton and with the aim of his pistol shot a strike towards the skeleton as the shot hit the skeleton right in the head and shattered its skull into fragments.

Upon the corpses were a roll of bandages, another sack of gold, and four crests bearing a symbol of the Moriarity family. The Heir collected these all and would be the one to travel to the treasure chest in the middle of the room as he was a bit anxious of the Crusader doing this task. Inside the chest after using one of his keys were eight of his family crests along with pieces of an onyx and a skull with mushrooms coming out, he described it to look sort of like a Blight Charm or that was what was carved into the side of this strange trinket.

They moved onto the next hallway after the opening and gathering of loot as Dismas was helping himself to some food to heal up his wounds as he made use of those bandages found as well. Continuing on, they moved down the corridor only for Vecsi to run into a trap. This not only dealt damage to the poor Plague Doctor but made her giggle uncontrollably as she seemed stressed. Lighting another torch, they entered through the door into the next room. Luckily, they found the room they wandered into to be empty of any encounters as Vecsi was now helping herself to some food as she grabbed some and walked into a corner. She then faced away from the group to lift her mask momentarily to consume. She returned soon enough to her position in a quiet manner though giggles could be heard behind her mask.

Soon enough they decided to move down as it connected to that curious room that they had yet to explore much of. On their way through the corridor, Emily set up a trap only to have her dodge just enough to the left to avoid getting spiked by the floors and ceiling. Another torch would be lit as they reached the end of the corridor yet again as the group readied themselves for an encounter.

Inside the room were three skeletons, two were Bone Soldiers wielding swords as the skeleton in the back was wielding a crossbow as its weapon of choice.

Vecsi threw at this new foe a Disorienting Blast as the attack worked and left a stunned Bone Arbalist closer to the front to be easier attacked.

Emily saw the poor condition within Vecsi and decided to shower upon her a healing light to make short work of those cuts and wounds.

Dismas decided to cover the two ladies as he aimed his flintlock in the direction of the skeletons and opened fire. With a good shot with his Grape Shot Blast, Reynauld pulled out the parchment once again hitting his foes with a Zealous Accusation. The skeletons did not take too kindly to that and the two Bone Soldiers struck both Reynauld and Vecsi with their swords.

Dismas saw an opening and unleashed another Grape Shot Blast upon the undead as waves of his bullets were propelled at them. The bullets ripped apart the Bone Soldier and Arbalist as it left only a lone skeleton in their way.

Vecsi decided to remedy that as she ran towards the Skeleton with her knife in hand as she hoped to make an Incision as she delivered a slice right at the skeleton. This sent the fiend back into a pile of bones as they found and emerald, a bag of gold, and two more busts among the bone fragments. In the middle of the room was some sort of altar dedicated to a priest of some sort. The Vestal quickly walked up with a bottle of holy water in hand and soon enough poured it upon the statue.

As soon as the first drop of holy water was spilt upon it, Emily would be bathed in a glorious and blinding light until soon enough it faded leaving a refreshed Vestal who looked just as determined as when she had first entered the ruins.

Deciding to leave no stone unturned they checked the corridor of this massive circle they walked in for any treasures. Another flame would be lit to improve vision as the group trekked down the corridor. They found another bag to which Reynauld walked up to and just dumped whatever contents were in there into his own personal pack.

"Alright! That's fucking bullshit! I expected this crap from me, jackass!" Dismas said irate at the behavior of the Crusader. Reynauld simply whistles and continued down the corridor only angering the Highwayman more before he had to be calmed down by Emily and Vecsi who held him down when he attempted to go stab the Crusader in the back.

The Heir sighed, he was going to need to confront Reynauld about his unhealthy behavior at a later date.

Torches would be used as they went around to go back to exploring the unexplored areas of the ruins, the first thing they found was a bag which was looted by Reynauld within a matter of moments. At the this point, the group really couldn't care any less as they assumed the Crusader had just lost it. Dismas was cursing under his breath rapidly and glaring daggers right at the Crusader.

As soon as they reached the end of the hallway, a torch would be lit before they walked through the door. In the room was nothing more then a few bookshelves and puddles formed from poor roofing. They had only but one room left to explore, the group would be ecstatic except Dismas who kept glaring at Reynauld.

Deciding to press on, they moved down the last corridor with haste as to not waste any time. It wouldn't be until the end of the hall that they came across another large mound of stone. With a shovel in hand, the Heir did the manual labor as his expediton kept a close eye out. In a matter of moments, the debris would be gone and they could finally continue on to the next and final room.

Within the room was a chest and with chest meant enemies as new skeletons stood in group of four. Somehow, the expedition managed to get a drop on their opponents as Dismas started the attack by aiming his gun and shooting for the skeleton in noble attire not for any other reason then that he hated nobles. The shot hit the bone Courtier right in the chest dealing quite a bit of damage.

Vecsi then followed up by throwing a blast right at the Arbalist and sent the skeleton flying forward.

Emily examined the situation so and healed Vecsi once more with a prayer and a ray of light bathing the Plague Doctor in holy healing.

Reynauld too advantage of his opponents and smacked his pommel against the skeleton with a shield and axe, needless to say, it did nothing as a focused attack was done upon Reynauld involving having bioling substance thrown upon his as well as crossbow bolts and swords. Dismas was sent flying back by Bone Defender and his shield bash which also stunned the Highwayman.

Vecsi saw this go down and with valor ran forward to deliver a blow against the Arbalist with her knife, only to end up missing and making a fool of herself.

Emily saw the punishment that Reynauld was receiving and said a prayer to deliver a healing light to the Crusader who was tanking the damage for the group.

Vecsi was caught offguard as she was slammed back by a shield that stunned her back to her orginal position. Reynauld was considerable hurt and looking at the status of his allies knew that defeat was imminent. With a mighty roar, he shouted, 'Retreat!"

The group nodded to one another as they abandoned the battle stressed and covered in wounds and cuts, while their main goal which was exploring most of this section of the ruins was completed, it still served as a blow to their pride to not conquer their foes who had them beaten so.

The entire group remained silent the entire way back to the Hamlet, all of their wounds called out to be tended to and their minds needed a way to relax and be distracted of the horrors seen within the ruins. With what treasure they had on them, the Heir made sure to deposit what he had gathered to the Caretaker at the general store. He would be greeted by Ludwig who was ecstatic and practically smiling widely, though the Heir felt no time nor did he have the effort to speak with Ludwig. Before he could join his group at the barracks however, Astrea managed to intervene and block him way.

"Master Moriarity! I am in need of your approval, I have picked up newcomers, those who wish to join in your campaign, but they insisted on meeting you." Astrea said quietly as she looked over the Heir like a mother hen did with her chicks.

"Can it not wait? I tire of my campaign and the burden on my mind is heavy..." The Heir spoke with little patience in his tone.

"I think you should at least take a look at us before you go." said a feminine voice not belonging to Astrea, but instead belonging to a female standing right behind him. Turning his head, he saw a brunette with long hair and wearing strange clothing of the sort stand next to a man, his ears sharpened and wearing a green garb.

"Who might you two be? You don't seem like the odd strangers belonging to any of the towns nearby."

The woman nods and says, "True, to be honest my friend and I do not belong around here. Oh, but where are my manners, I am Tifa Lockheart and my rather stalwart companion here is Link. We search for a way home, from what I can tell. There's a presence around that is drenched in materia. We were hoping to join your expedition to do an investigation of our own."

Moriarity simply rubbed his temple, the craziness was far from over it seems, and he seemed to be smack dab in the middle of this chaotic tipping point.

 **"Know this my descendant, know that the awakening of the evil deep below the estate is a being beyond comprehension. With its awakening comes the weakening of the walls between worlds. Boundaries shall break and new allies and heroes will aid you. Hope my dear descendant, hope that with this unlikely variable that you are able to conquer the Darkest Dungeon, lest you be swallowed by its madness."**

 **/Alright! So ends the first real excursion of our heroes, coming out with barely their lives intact, they come across newcomers from strange and new worlds! Will Moriarity be able to conquer the Darkest Dungeon? Who else will heed the call of madness? Will Reynauld ever stop looting the first goddamn thing he sees? We shall see in the next chapter of the Darkest Dungeon: Modded Edition!**

 **/PS- Yes, I am using the Tifa Mod and Adventurer Mod from Steam! You should check it out if you ever have the time!**


	5. Chapter 4: The Hamlet Affairs

"A suspension of disbelief, the gateway to something amazing or a twisted path to madness." Moriarity thought to himself. Those were the famous words his grandfather spoke, a line he'll never forget.

His eyes looked up to find the same two strangers sitting across from him, currently he was sitting in the tavern. Some time had passed since the fateful day of their first trek. Over the past few days, two residents of the town had returned. The owner of the tavern and the priest of the abbey. These two individuals greeted him with open arms, an appropriate response as they were under the assumption he was here to stay and protect the town.

In all honesty, he wasn't so sure he could do that. His current group were stressed and had kept to themselves. Reynauld does patrols of the Hamlet's boundaries and leaves early in the morning to do so. Emily and Vecsi stayed in their own rooms doing whatever it is that they did. He only recently seen Emily when he announced the news of a tavern and abbey. Now, the Vestal can be found frequenting the church. Dismas was a whole other issue, he either disappeared for the entire day or be found drinking alone in the tavern.

Everybody was coping with their stress, he doubted he could get them to mount another offensive force without the risk of a breakdown.

His attention soon turned back to the present as he heard Tifa clear her throat to get his attention.

"Ah, that's right. The newcomers..." He thought to himself as he looked over at the two.

"You two are still interested in joining the expedition? Even after the warning that had been issued? The risk of current company breaking from stress?" Moriarity asked, his voice low and quiet as he looked at the two. His vision focused on one before focusing on the other to get a clear indicator of their traits and behavior.

"Yes, the answer remains the same. Even if the dangers are as great as you say, my friend and I are no strangers to a fight and have been in our own fair share of dangerous moments. You can bet that I can take pretty good care of myself." Tifa said confidently. The Heir noted this trait down, this woman seemed too confident, he shouldn't be surprised. He had seen moments of her strength, acting as a guardian for the tavern and breaking up fights when they occurred. With news of his arrival, traders had started coming into the area, with them brought people who frequented the tavern. He winced remembering a time he witnessed a drunken man bothering Tifa and in his drunken stupor gained more then a bloody nose that night.

Needless to say, confidence from her end shouldn't be a surprise.

He turned his attention to the Adventurer, Link. The man nodded quietly, a trait he noticed all too well. The man never spoke, the most he could get out of him were grunts when Link attacked with his sword as the Adventurer had taken to slashing the air in his spare time in the middle of the Hamlet. The strange man also appeared to avoid chickens of the sort, he noted that Link disappeared whenever a curious chicken from the Hamlet farms had gotten loose.

These two were an enigma all on their own right, appearing one day out of nowhere near the roads leading up to the Hamlet and soon the family estate.

Whether this be a blessing or a cruel hand dealt by fate, he needed more fighters and their worth would be shown there.

Standing up, he looked towards the two and said, "Go to the barracks and set up your rooms, get to know the others, I know now that there's nothing I can do or say to dissuade your choice. Know that the journey ahead will be hard, I hope you find what you are seeking, I can think of no crueler plot that fate has to offer then to be sure you were so close to what you want until it is revealed that you were farther from it then you could ever believe."

Both Tifa and Link nodded, both of them stood up and left to claim their own rooms in the barracks. They left the Heir alone with his thoughts as he sat back down and ordered another drink. An expedition was going to happen again and that meant braving what lurked within the darkness, if he was to go through all that again, then he might as well enjoy what small pleasures there were. So focused on his own thoughts, he did not hear the bell toll and the slam of a wooden door.

"Hey! Tavish! Finally back! How about you pour me up some of your strongest drinks? Shits happening and it isn't good shit!" A voice rang out throughout the tavern, the voice was smooth but carried with it a rough and boisterous tone.

It wouldn't be until he felt his chair get kicked and he fell that he would snap out of his thoughts. Standing above him was a woman. She wore brown leather pants along with boots, she wore a buttoned blouse with a coat similar to the likes that Dismas wore. Around her waist was a belt holding both a flask of what he could assume to be alcohol and next to it was a bell. The most prominent features were the tan and dirtied skin, unkempt blonde hair, and piercing violet eyes filled with boundless energy.

He then felt a boot stomp right onto his chest illiciting a grunt from him. There was but only one person that he knew of other then a bandit to greet him in such a manner. He braced himself knowing what lay ahead.

"So! Those rumors spreading around were true, aye? What ever happened to having no intention of coming back? Huh! How about that?!" The woman said, the amount of pressure increased upon those words as he let out another pained grunt.

"L-Listen, I know I h-have a whole lot to make up for, but-" Moriairty tried to say but only received a kick to his side for his troubles.

He groaned aloud, as he felt himself being grabbed by the collar and slowly lifted closer to her face. A faint memory made itself known to him, a piece of advice from his Grandfather when he was much too young to understand what it implied.

 **"Remember, young Moriarity. Women may seem like deletable creatures, but you should never cross one. A woman's scorn is the equivalent to hottest fires of hell. I know that more then I'd like to."**

As a child, he never believed that piece of advice, obviously he never saw himself making the mistakes he made for this to occur.

Exepecting a punch, he closed his eyes and attempted to brace for the impact. A pumch would never come however as he found himself thrown back onto a chair. The woman stood in front of him with a pissed off look. She then shook her head at the poor descendant before crossing her arms and asking, "What changed? You are a stubborn one, Moriarity. Always a bit of a coward, but you at least had your moments of dignity. The last I saw you, you were adamant in doing your own business elsewhere."

"I'm glad you aren't beating me as much as I expected, true I have changed a bit, both in aspirations and life choices. For once, I'm staying put because my gramdfather wishes that I redeem my family and the estate from the monsters."

"Really? Your Grandfather must really hate you, I mean it was obvious you weren't like the rest of your family."

"Hmm? How so?" The Heir asked with a raised eyebrow as he crossed his own arms.

"For one, you are bad in a fight... I'm not joking, you really are bad in a fight. I remember being your lookout everytime you wandered into the Hamlet with your eyes wide open with some excitement for adventure."

"What's that got to do with anything?"

"Well, how else are you going to clear out the monsters in your now infested estate?"

"One doesn't need to be a master at combat to beat back an ancient evil, I'll have you know!"

"Sure, how are you possibly going to deal with them? Read them to death? Parley and extend an olive branch as a sign of peace? Oh wait! Maybe you can show them your favorite book from your family library and suggest to them possible alternatives that doesn't involve outright killing people!"

"I have a sneaking suspicion you are mocking me right now." Moriarity said as he cleaned off his clothing of the dust he got on him. He then reached for a drink delivered to that had been set on the table and began to drink from it.

"What gave it away? The fact that I had you on the floor beaten to a pulp or the fact that I'm going to give you all the complaints of the Hamlet from now on?"

"What?!" Moriarity yelled after spitting out his drink.

"Why me?! Why not the Caretakers?" He questioned as he placed the drink down as his mind now raced with new things to be worrying about.

"The Caretakers have shown they lack the proper resources and mental fortitude to be the proper people to go to when action needs to be taken. Besides, they run the finances around here and make sure that people around here get paid and the Hamlet doesn't fall apart. Trust me, the task looks harder then it looks, why do you think you have to pay for your supplies instead of being provided it for free? It didn't help that your Grandfather spent all of his fortune getting us all into this mess."

"What about the town militia? Surely they can handle the complaints of the town?"

"Hey, dumbass! I don't know if this registered in your head yet, but you are technically the lord of this land. Also, considering the only armed group of trained professionals works under you, you are the militia!"

The Heir quietly ran his hands through his hair as he ran these facts over in his head. Not only did he have to focus on dealing with the estate and its affairs, he also had to bring law to a region infested with god knows how many bandits are out there.

"Hey! You hear me? Don't go stressing yourself out already! We don't need another would be leader of the people blowing their own brains out. Listen, I know it may not seem like much coming from me, but if it helps, you aren't alone in this. Far from it, unlike your ancestor, you don't suffer from a poor attitude with people. So use that head of yours to solve problems and I swear to god, I better not find out you hung youself or something!"

She grabbed Moriarity by the shoulder and gave him a firm and rough shake. Before slapping him across the face for good measure.

The Heir rubbed the struck area, visibly wincing from the throbbing pain.

"I feel like your advice would be much more effective if you didn't inflict pain onto my being."

"I'm a towncrier, not that lady from our local "clinic"."

"She's still around?"

"Yep, she's still packing her needles so you won't see her for a bit. Just know this, her method of "curing" hasn't gotten any better. In fact, I think she uses even more."

"You have got to be kidding me..."

"Sorry, last I checked, your grandfather never put much stock into the Hamlet's prosperity. How about you do a better job then that bloke?"

"By the Light, I'm going to need a drink..."

"Hey! Be sure to order me one as well! Complaining isn't so easy!"

The Heir sighed quietly, he then said, "I see your rather brusque behavior hasn't improved."

"As if, now stop stalling and get me a drink."

The Heir rolled his eyes, he then let himself smile for only a bit as he ordered more drinks. He spent the night reconnecting with an old friend. With the weight of new responsibilities weighing on his mind, he wondered what more surprises were left in store.

 **"Friendship, Comraderie, and Trust... All are easily shaken by time and age. Your friend is right about one thing, you never kept people at a distance. Whether this will lead to an earlier or later demise will be up to chance."**

 **/Hello! This concludes this chapter of the Darkest Dungeon: Modded Edition! Decided that the Heir was going to need more character development! Also, considering the scenes from Crimson Court and the general affairs of the Hamlet, I feel like Heirs of the Darkest Dungeon would have to deal with the topics of military and social relations with the common people. Considering the only other nobles are zombie vampires or are the literal heart of an Eldritch Abomination, our Heir doesn't seem all that bad of a canditate for leader! XD**

 **/I hope you all enjoyed!**


	6. Chapter 5: Victory Followed By Crisis

Time passed and with it came sensations, one of these sensations was of a throbbing pain. A sensation that was akin to dying, but never meeting that sweet embrace of cold death. It felt like his skull was being split open and its contents being spilled across the floor.

The Heir was suffering a fate worse then any death that could be granted upon him, he suffered a pain that many kings and lords to the lowest of beggars have dealt with over centuries of a time.

A pain that existed before the Darkest Dungeon...

That pain...

Was a hangover...

Groaning to himself as he sat up, he clutched the throbbing pain in his head as his blurry vision slowly attempted to focus on his surroundings. He barely could remember all that had happened after the first round of drinks.

He then looked down suddenly only to find that he was back in his bed, albeit it looked more like he had been thrown crudely onto his bed as he had the bruises to show for it. His door was wide open and he had to shield his eyes as he looked towards the window to see that it was about early morning. He laid back down in bed to both relax and quietly get rid of this headache, he went through the motions of planning out the day.

Plan the expedition team and avoid dying by the hands of the undead and crazed...

Both were easier said then done, with the current numbers he had under his employ at the moment, that meant he had to assign as least two members of the previous team onto this expedition group.

Evaluating the current team setup, both Tifa and Link were relatively new and were able to handle the stress that came with delving into the ruins. Tifa fought with her fists and seemed to employ types of magic of some sort. While he didn't quite know the specifics of her abilities, he could estimate that she was an efficient fighter from positions one to three.

Considering that she was quite versatile, he would assign her main position to be one due to her abilities being more useful if used for a front line assault.

Link on the other hand was more complicated, utilizing more then a sword and rather a plethora of different gear and gadgets, he found that Link could be placed about anywhere on each position and still do some sort of damage to the opposition. From what he had been observing as well as taking in the information he was given on the Adventurer's abilities, he concluded that Link could be placed in position three within the expedition. His estimate range on Link's abilities made it seem like he could perform at least most of his skill set without compromising too much of what the man had to offer.

With those positions filled, that left positions two and four within the expedition group to be filled. Position two could be filled with any of the four members of the previous group, but Moriarity decided to assign Dismas to that position.

Dismas was a skilled combatant and his repertoire spoke volumes of it, being capable of both attacking with his knife and flintlock and make full use of the weapons while in the second position. His skill set also allowed for attacking both groups and singular targets allowing for a variety of options for when dispatching of foes and could even be utilized in attacks with the rest of the group, though possible synergies are unknown at the moment.

The Heir thought of possible ways that Vecsi or Reynauld could serve a use though from what he was currently working with, that wouldn't be all that possible. Vecsi was a expert at debilitating her opponents and while she is a trained medical expert, she was more trained along the lines of dealing with plagues and open wounds rather then intensive combative healing. It of course didn't help when he found that the Plague Doctor has and is currently unapproachable. While Dismas was stressed from their last trek into the ruins, Vecsi was, unhinged to say the least as he could still hear her giggles. He decided that a day in the tavern and unwinding a bit would do the Plague Doctor some good in terms of mental health.

Reynauld wasn't much different, the Crusader was considerably shaken and with spots one and two being taken, Reynauld wasn't a good choice for the current party. While these served as perfectly good reasons why to not bring Reynauld along with the current group, he had a more pressing concern involving the Crusader. Over the days they had after their first expedition into the ruins, looking into some of the books lying around. He was able to identify that Reynauld suffered from a case of serious Kleptomania. A mental disease that those who suffer from it get urges to collect objects, while he didn't see that as much of a problem initially, this would be a problem as groups with the Crusader wouldn't be able to fully make use of supplies scavenged from the area if Reynauld was just going to go and take as he pleased. Even if he wanted the Crusader on this mission, he couldn't as the Crusader made it clear that he wouldn't be available until he made arrangements and prayed to the Light. He wouldn't push any further with Reynauld when he was told of the Crusader's decision as the holy warrior spoke of the Light in an almost fearful manner, almost as if missing communion with his holy forces would brand him a heretic.

With both the Plague Doctor and Crusader out of commission, that left only the Vestal, Emily. This was a matter he had to handle seriously, the Vestal was worse for wear even more then others in how she handled her stress from their trek into the ruins. While it may not seem like an ideal choice at first, her abilities were suited for position four. Many of her abilities could be utilized from range along with her healing which was more specialized for long term combative fighting and out of all the current fighters that he had was also the best healer available at the moment. The only difficult task that he had with her was convincing her to join the group again for another trek.

With this all planned, he decided to finally ready himself for the day ahead of him. Sitting up, he changed into a fresh set of clothing and made sure to empty his bag of family heirlooms and documents so that space could be made in advance for anything they could scavenge out there.

Once he had everything prepared, he set out. Reynauld had already left already to pray with his deity as he walked by Vecsi's door only to hear the sounds of glass battles clinking. Assuming her to be in her room, he took out some gold and placed in an envelope detailing instructions for her to be doing while he was out on the expedition. He then slipped the envelope under the door and was on his way to gather the group together.

Waiting outside for him were Link and Tifa, the two newcomers respectfully nodded towards Moriarity before taking his side as they walked with him. They assumed enough to know that it was time for the descent towards the ruins, it wouldn't be that hard for them to have found out as the Heir was open about schedules and times that he organized an expedition. Each expedition had a week to cooldown afterwards as to prevent stress and breakdowns from occurring frequently.

Moriarity already had an idea as to where he could find Dismas, opening up the door to the tavern, he could spot the Highwayman enjoying a drink quietly in the corner of the establishment with his usual trademark scarf covering the lower portion of his face. His hands clutched a tankard of alcohol as the Highwayman noticed that Moriarity had entered the tavern and motioned for the Heir to come to where he was at. With the sign of his invitiation quite clear, Moriarity walked over in a slow fashion and sat into the seat and was directly across from Dismas on his side of the table.

"I know why you are here, you've come to ask me to go back with ya into those ruins? Don't bother trying to convince me, I already made up my mind about that. I accept the job offer, so save your breath and be sure to pay my tab before we go. I expect to come back alive, I'm not being naive, I know I'm too good to die to some pile of bones and crazed people." The Highwayman said before downing his drink within a few seconds before slamming the tankard onto the table.

"Really? You are willing to jump back into that mad place?" The Heir said skeptically about Dismas' choice.

"Yeah, I am. No one ever said that money didn't take effort, I know that the place is dangerous, but with danger comes riches and I ain't backing off because I have a few swords pointed at me. If this is about the group stress that you were talking about a while ago, know that your little charts and numbers aren't completely accurate. I wasn't all that hung up about leaving a fight. I live by playing smart, if I need to run then I run."

"I see, well at least that's one situation down. Well, if you are done, meet your team outside, we are leaving in a bit, I just need to convince the last member of our little group to join us."

Dismas nodded and quietly stood and walked out of the tavern, the Heir pulled out a few couple of gold coins and left them on the table for the barkeep to collect. With that ticked off his mental checklist, he headed to the only place he knew Emily would go to for peace. Standing in front of the abbey, he pushed open its doors to find that the small hall with pews was empty save for one hooded figure kneeling before an altar dedicated to the Light.

Clearing his throat, he quietly made his way over to the kneeling Vestal. He wouldn't even be within touching distance that she acknowledged his presence. "I know why you are here, I'm not blind, Vecsi is too damaged mentally and Reynauld is consumed by his human sins. You seek me for my healing light, know that such connections with the Light requires faith. My faith was nearly shattered and I need the time to heal and mend my connection with the Light." Emily said, her tone stern, but if one listened hard enough, they could almost hear shaky and disturbed breathing.

"I'm sorry to put this burden upon you, but there is no other time that I can allow, postponing this expedition for more then a week will be a drain on the current resources that I have on me. Who knows what abominations could recover if we wait this out. We need to make progress and I can't do that without you." The Heir said, attempting to reason with the Vestal into joining the group he had at the moment.

"I can't, dangerous creatures await us, I will be more of a weight then a strength, leave... You would do much better without me then with."

"That is ridiculous, the first time we were at it, we were unprepared for what dangers were ahead, if we just stop after almost failing due to a fear of actually failing, then we not only lose our dignities, but others shall suffer for it. You think those creatures will stay at the estate forever? One day, the estate will run out of room to hold those creatures and they'll venture out. Think of the Hamlet and the people who live close to the estate? What of their livelihood that they placed within our hands? Will you throw it all away due to shaken faith?"

"What would you know? You who claims that mere bravado alone without complete faith is enough reason to face what are in those ruins! What legitimacy can you claim when you have not placed your life solely under the Light and its protections?" Emily asked, a rising anger could be heard in her tone. Contempt building as her morals and faith were put to the test by one who is not under the faith of her deity.

"I never said I had legitimacy, nor did I say that I was knowledgeable about topics of theology and leadership. Instead, I am, but a child compared to his ancestors and thrusted into responsiblities I never thought I had to govern. I know not of faith nor do I place my life completely under it. I know it sounds cliche to say this, but wouldn't it instead be better to go in blindly believing and truly having faith in this deity of yours? Or does it sound more appealing to doubt your own conviction and cower within a church with no idea of your own faith and its legitimacy? I won't push any further to have you come with me for I respect your decision, I don't agree with it, but I won't hamper you from choosing. I pray that your god gives you the answers you seek, otherwise return back to your cloister and go back to healing the scraps and cuts of soldiers who fight and die in the name of kings. I have nothing more to say to you on this." The Heir said, his own tone was tired and lacked energy, his own confidence an act to boister a dead town that looked to him for leadership.

Without another word, he quietly turned his back on the Vestal and walked off both stressed and frustrated, but one thing did make sense in his mind. If she was unable to handle the stress of what terrors were ahead, she should just leave and not return. The journey ahead would be hard and tedious, he needed strong people by his side to get jobs done. That wouldn't happen if he was lenient with those who worked under him.

With what members of the party he had left, he announced to the group that it was time to leave for the ruins. Assuming the positions that he had assigned to them, they made their way towards the general store for provisions. Greeted once more by Ludwig, the Heir purchased with his gold a bundle of torches, twelve pounds of food, two shovels, two medicinal herbs, two skeleton keys, and two bottles of holy water.

Exchanging gold for the items, he placed each item into his pack for safekeeping before they began to move, it wouldn't be until they were a few feet from the town that they heard hurried pants and heavy breathing. Catching up to the group, Emily held in her hands her club and tome. Stress could be seen on her form, but in her dull eyes was a flicker of a flame. Weak, but defiant against the cold winds that blew around it.

"I see, you have decided to join us afterall, I commend you for your bravery, but like you said. Bravado alone won't win this battle nor will it clear these abominations from their nest." The Heir said, his hands behind his back as he looked over at the Vestal.

"True, we all might die and suffer for foolishness, I simply wish to test the strength of your faith. Maybe I lack what faith you have or maybe your serpent like tongue of silver is something I need to be on the lookout for. A man who uses words is a man to be feared, of course, that is if you can back up those words." Emily said, she hid her answers behind half truths and half lies. The man had a point, now was the time to test his point in the judgement of the Light.

"Well, it seems I may not have earned your trust, that is reasonable. I hope to grow better as a leader, you do me a service by giving me that much of a chance." The Heir responded as he lead the group around the estate grounds before finding a different opening that lead into the ruins. He quietly nodded to his team as he motioned for this to go first before he went in himself. He wasn't a skilled combatant, he was however going to keep track of the loot, supplies, and mapping on hand to at least carry that burden.

Like the previous entrance they had used, there was a hole in the wall that lead deep into the bowels of the Heir's family estate, once an illustrious home was now, but a shell of its former self. Before the group could begin moving, Dismas stops the group suddenly and says, "Stay here, I believe I can get us an advantage."

Before anyone could intterupt, inquire further, or even say a word, Dismas made his way into the dark depths of the estate, no one moved for quite a bit. Both Link and Tifa were on edge and ready to rush in if they saw signs of trouble, Emily was holding her breath in an attempt to prevent herself from hyperventilating, and the Heir kept his map out. While the others were worried for the safety of the Highwayman, Moriarity knew that the rogue performed at his best alone and at infiltration.

Time passed as about half an hour passed before they heard the sounds of footsteps and appearing from the hole would be Dismas, not a scratch could be seen on him, though he did grumble about the prospect and ordering more drinks from the tavern before going on this trip. Other then that, he marked on the map a possible obstacle ahead as well as a treasure room if he had simply gone a straight east.

Thanking Dismas quietly, the Heir motioned for the group to continue and move on they did as each of them moved through the hole and into the many corridors that were found within the ruins. With a lit torch in hand, Moriarity found that not even five steps in and there was already a giant mound of stone and corpses that he had to clean out. He handed the torch to Tifa to hold as he got to work on digging through the mound and used up a shovel in the process as his fellows simply watched. Much time passed and soon the way would be clear for them to move on. After the mound, they found an Iron Maiden, a rusted torture machine now out of use from its uses over the years. It would be Link who was the first to interact with the machine, he had taken out a medicinal herb from the inventory and applied it onto the Iron Maiden. Somehow, this managed to clean the device of its dangerous rust and inside, they found a small measly pouch of gold. With that, they moved on until they reached the door at the end of the corridor. The group paused as the Heir motioned for them to wait as he looked over the map, Dismas hasn't mentioned any hostiles within this room,. After much debilitations of whether or not to continue, he motioned for them to move on.

Within the room, they found only skulls littering the room with red puddles in certain parts of the room.

"Sheesh, talk about this place being a real dump." Tifa commented as her fists were raised for an encounter that might come sooner or later.

The Heir motioned for the group to continue east to check out the treasure room described by Dismas.

Lighting a torch as they entered this corridor, the group saw in front of them a pile of books stacked as a pile. Tifa walked towards the stack of books to get a better look at them. What she found was a bloodied letter sticking out of one of the books crudely.

She took out the page and began to read aloud what it said, _"Day 7- We tangled with some unruly louts. Raeven called them cultists. They were furious but clumsy."_

"Cultists? That explains the dark aura that surrounds this place. Best keep our eyes open for more of those pages, it seems we weren't the first to have an expedition here." Moriarity said to the group as he stored the document away for archiving.

Continuing on, they case across the statue of a angel carrying a sword, Moriarity nodded to Emily to examine it as she was the one with the most experience regarding theology and religion. The Vestal slowly walked up to the statue before offering it holy water as a gift to cleanse it. As soon as she did that, a light hung over Emily for a moment before she stood straighter with more strength and confidence in her step as she got back into position.

They continued on until they reached the end of the corridor as the Heir lit up another torch before the group entered, through as it was treasure it mostly likely was to be guarded by some unholy force.

Indeed, the intuition of the Heir was right as in the room was a Cultist Brawler and Acolyte that was accompanied by a Bone Soldier and Arbalist.

No time was wasted as the group of foul power was surprised and caught off guard as Link reacted by taking a bomb out of his pocket before it chucking it at the opposing opposition. Sadly enough, it seems he had overshot the trejectory of the bomb as it blew up far enough for them to not be affected all that much.

Tifa decided to follow up that failed attack with her own attack as she ran right up to the Acolyte and delivered a somersault kick that slammed the end of her boot right up against the chin of the Acolyte as an audible crack could be heard.

Dismas answered with a simple stab right at the Brawler leaving a bleeding wound right on the chest of the Brawler.

Emily then pitched in as she raised her club into the air and said a prayer under her breath as a bolt of holy thunder crackled and struck the Acolyte right in the chest and left her a smoldering pile of meat as what was left of her corpse.

Of course the enemy would retaliate as the Brawler attempted to jab his gauntlet into Tifa who deftly dodged such an attack only to get hit in the belly by a crossbow bolt as Link got slashed across the chest by a sword by the Bone Soldier.

Dismas then struck again as he ran right up to the Brawler to get for another stab as he jabbed his dirk right into the neck of the Brawler before kicking him back and allowing his corpse to fall right onto the floor.

Tifa takes this opportunity as she aimed her strikes towards the Soldier in front of her as she ran at him and delivered a swift barrage of punches before taking another crossbow bolt to the chest.

Link saw this as trouble and pulled out his bow as he aimed at the Arbalist and fastened an arrow for a clear precise shot before letting it go as the arrow had hit the Arbalist square in the chest.

Emily saw that Tifa was in bad shape and with the words of a prayer lifted her club as a healing light began to encompass Tifa.

A Bone Soldier aimed to strike at Link who simply brought up his shield as the strike bounced off of the shield harmlessly. Dismas had his eyes on this Bone Soldier as he went in for a stab as he jammed his dirk right into the skull of the skeleton before pulling it out and kicking the skeleton who fell apart back into a pile of bones.

Link fastened another arrow before aiming and letting the arrow head straight for the Arbalist as it struck it right in the chest again. However, its pain would not end there as Tifa followed up the attack with a water kick as she flew forward and delivered a wave of water right into her opponent with the equivalent damage done if a wall of bricks had hit the Arbalist as the conflict soon ended.

The loot for taking on such a force was a gold bar, a small bag of gold, four family crests, and two busts on an unrecognizable man. The loot did not end there as a key was used on the chest by the Heir revealing four more family crests, four busts, and a single painting.

The exhilarating fight had come to a finish as Tifa grunted as the sensations of her pain were now being felt in full force. She shook for a moment before standing straight and her fists raised, she wasn't out of the count yet and so could be said about the rest of the party as they took the time to look over their wounds and consider damage control.

Emily was simply off, she leaned against a wall and rubbing her temple as she was stressed, but relatively unharmed.

With a moment to breathe, the Heir allowed the group a moment to gain their bearings before them moved on and went back the way they came to explore other areas of the ruins.

While the walk through the empty corridors was harmless, it didn't prevent the building of stress as the light from their torches was dying each moment they stayed within this unholy bastion.

The group went south and headed through the hallway as Moriarity mapped out the way as they went, Dismas had alerted him a while ago of the chance of a fight within the corridor as well as a curious item. With this knowledge, they walked down knowing a fight would erupt within mere seconds. A torch would be used to keep the visibility reasonable as they walked forward as their nerves were up and ready to face off against whatever force lurked about.

In front of them stood three pairs of maggots that were the size of dogs, Link reacted immediately slashing at the first pair with his sword and slicing the foul insects to bits.

Tifa then went in with a smile on her face, taking a good look at her wounds before looking up at the insects she ran up and did a somersault on the second pair of insects with her boots and sent the pair flying up into the ceiling before being nothing more then pulps of meat.

Emily then took a step forward as she looked to Tifa and quietly recited a prayer as a healing light ran over Tifa healing her wounds as Dismas ran up with his knife and jammed his dirk violently into the insects killing them brutally.

With the battle over, the group continued until they came across a bookshelf, Tifa inspected it closely and found a map within and between the books that showed what some of the rooms ahead would look like and contained. Continuing on, it wouldn't be long that they reached the end of the hall and another torch would be lit before they entered the room for safety.

They found nothing more within the room then cobwebs and puddles of muck and grime, nothing too out of the ordinary which was something he could accept with relief as the thought of these unholy monsters sent chills down his spine. With map in hand, he motioned for the group to head south to cover ground and inspect some of the outer rooms.

From what the map they had indicated, it seems there would be a curious object up ahead along the corridor. Beginning to walk down the corridor, a trap would spring, luckily however it seemed that Dismas' instincts wouldn't fail him as he deftly dodged the trap unharmed. With that danger out of the way, the group continued down the corridor. As they walked down, they saw what seemed to be a confession booth. Emily was the only one out of the group who wanted to use the device as the group stepped back on the order of Moriarity to give the Vestal some space and privacy. Emily had also taken a bottle of holy water with her towards the booth. About fourty five minutes passed, it seemed like the Vestal would never return until she did as she walked out of the darkness and into the light almost reborn. Her face showed nothing but sheer determination and a fire burned within her eyes.

"Hello friends! I have kept us waiting long enough! Let us go now and purge these abominations lest we give them the time to recover from our righteous strike!" Emily said as her voice was filled with strong conviction and unwavering faith.

The group simply moved forward though now with a lighter step as Emily urged each member to move faster and without a lazy or missed step. It seems her time in the confession booth had lifted her spirits to new whole heights.

The Heir soon found himself walking beside Emily, the Vestal gave him a smile as she said, "Hmm? What brings you this close to the group? Not that I am complaining or against your distances, I had assumed you wished to be consistent in your actions and behaviors."

"Ah, I simply noticed your change of tune, much more hopeful then the tone you took with me earlier. I was simply wondering what had changed to make you so confident in our tasks." The Heir said quietly, he looked her in the eyes only to find that she was valiantly staring into his.

"Taken an interest? I merely spoke a few words with the Light, now I know I am under its holy protection and I no longer need to be afraid."

"I see, I hope that attitude keeps up to the end of this expedition." The Heir said before looking ahead towards the next room.

Reaching the end of the hall, the Heir lit another torch and ushered his group through into the next room. Within the room were simply piles of skulls and nothing more as the group would head east to check out the last room in that direction. With caution, the group traveled down the corridor, they yet another confession booth. Suddenly, Emily looked to Dismas and said, "Dismas, can you enter the booth?"

"What? Why the hell should I go in there!?" The Highwayman asked, he was questioning where she was going with this.

The Vestal simply smiles and says, "We must all open ourselves up to the Light, Dismas, please go and form a connection with the Light so that you may be protected as well."

"I don't need some crazy deity to protect me, I already have protection, a sharp dagger at my side and some hot lead to show that I mean business. Physical means of protections instead of made up ones. There's nothing this Light is going to do for me down here."

Emily would have nothing of it as she pushed Dismas into the confession booth and demanded that he should use it, she then ushered the group back as the Heir watched a bit and hesitation as he worried for the Highwayman.

They heard a gunshot take place a few moments later as Dismas was outside the confession booth, his breath was ragged as he breathed heavily. He wouldn't talk at all after that as he gained a dark look about him, his eyes shifting around as if the shadows would jump out and grab at him as he mumbled under his breath. The Heir was put on edge by this, it seemed Dismas was attacked or he just couldn't handle a heavy weight from his past.

Regardless, they moved on only for Tifa to get hit into a spike trap a few steps later as the girl looked completely worst for wear. She clutched her chest which had taken much damage as she barely looked like she could remain standing, but they had managed to finally make it to the end.

The Heir lit another torch while Emily was looking Tifa over to make sure the poor girl wasn't bleeding or infected as Link and Dismas looked into the room ahead to find that it had contained nothing.

"Alright, turn the other goddamn way. Nothing in here but the stench of death and I don't want to be adding to it." The Highwayman said coldly

The Group soon turned around from such a disappointing venture but were glad to keep their lives as Tifa was fed food to help her recovery from her wounds.

Making it back to the other room, the group would go west this time as they entered out into the hallway and moved down it slowly. The group would stop to enjoy the food they had brought along as the rumblings of many bellies sounded out amongst the group as it even made Dismas think there was a beast nearby at first. Eventually, they would come across the door on the end and lit another torch before entering the room.

They entered the room to find that there was nothing, simply a torn down room with a few book shelves here and there. Dismas actually motioned for the group to stay put as he would scout out yet again. They found that his absence wouldn't be too long as he returned only a few moments later to inform the group that going north assured a fight.

With that knowledge in mind, they all decided to go west to clear out the room there before going north to loop back into one of the rooms they were previously in.

The way there to the room would be rather uneventuful as nothing occurred before they reached the door. Another torch would be struck to better visibility before entering the room. Within the room was nothing but a few decorations as it seemed that this part of the ruins wasn't as infested as they believe. The group turned back to investigate the last room for anything of value.

They made their ways through the corridor before going north with everyone geared for a fight to occur, and a fight would occur indeed as a trio of giant spiders made their presence known as the first one jumped at Tifa and bit her as a green slime would enter her wounds and soon Tifa would feel something burn within her blood as it was Blight or more simply poison.

Tifa felt pain as she went forward and delivered a firm somersault kick towards the spiders killing one of them instantly and without fail.

Link went as he pulled out his sword and stabbed at spider in front of his group slicing it in half and killing it instantly.

Dismas then had his turn as he sliced at the last spider with his dirk leaving a bleeding mark upon the insect as Emily kneeled and prayed to heal Tifa with her prayers as the spider bled out.

On the corpses were a bag of gold and pieces of an onyx on them, with that stored away, the group continued on as nothing else came up.

They soon came upon the last room as they all entered with a good idea of a fight happening inside, inside the room were two Bone Rabble and Courtiers.

Dismas reacted quickly as he fired into the crowd with his flintlock as he got a good hit in there as he dodged a goblet of black liquid being thrown at him though it hit Link instead.

Tifa now had her turn as she took a stance and said with a glowing energy around her, "LIMIT BREAKER!" She then charged forward and ran up to a Bone Rabble in front of her as she performed an uppercut with a dolphin coming out of the ground and slamming against the Bone Rabble killing it. Her turn would be far from over as she glared right at the Bone Courtier at the back and unleashed a strike that glowed with the intensity of the sun as she yelled "FINAL HEAVEN." The Bone Courtier would be blown to bits by such an attack.

Heck even the Heir was caught offguard as he fell onto his back from the intensity of such a strike.

Tifa would be grinning but her body was damaged as it seems using these moves were taking a physical toll on her. Emily saw this and said a healing prayer to keep Tifa in the fight.

Link followed up that strong barrage as he took out his bow and shot an arrow at the last Courtier and hit it square in the chest, a Bone Rabble attempted to hit Tifa but she dodged out of the way as Dismas was hit by the black liquid of the Courtier.

Dismas decided to end this as he shot into the crowd yet again and killed all the offending skeletons. On the party was a bag of gold along with a few busts and crests.

These would be obtained and the group would leave the ruins this time in victory and triumph! The Heir held a clear smile on his face, not only had they conquered this expedition, but it gave him hope that with time, they could conquer this Darkest Dungeon and hopefully fix the follies left by his ancestor.

 **"Remember, overconfidence is a slow and and insidious killer, do not think you have won. You barely scratched the surface of madness."**

The Heir felt himself twitch, if was as if he had been watched by an ominous presence that sought to resign itself until he was at his weakest, ever since he had come back, he never felt like he could relax. He always felt as if his life was always in danger even back at the Hamlet.

Speaking of which, he looked up once he heard the sounds of clanking metal as Reynauld was running up to him and alongside him was Vecsi. The Crusader and Plague Doctor had ran half way on his trek back to the Hamlet as they saw him in the distance.

"Moriarity, we have a situation. One of the most utmost of importance, I suggest looking into it." The Crusader said breathing a bit heavily but remaining tall and standing.

"What seems to be the problem?" The Heir inquired as he crossed his arms and looked at the Crusader a bit worried.

"A warrior, one bearing the sign of Holy Light, wishes to speak with the Lord of this land. She wishes to talk with you about an issue, she wouldn't divulge any more then that, but a look at her eyes tell me that this is a serious problem. Holy Knights are those who blessed with powers bestowed by the Light itself. More so then a Crusader such as I or Vestal, if one truly is here. That means we might have a problem that requires the most elite of forces."

"Moriarity, if a Holy Knight is here then you best go and speak with her immediately." Emily said grimly speaking up from where she stood before walking up to the two men.

"I plan on doing that, but I guess there more to it then being polite?" The Heir said as worry spiked and his nerves were being tested.

"Indeed, Holy Knights have the authority of the church, one could brand you a heretic and no one would bat an eye or question the decision. Please, be careful with what you say or do. We wouldn't want a fight on two fronts."

"You have to be kidding?!" The Heir said taking a step back from hearing this as his worries grew witnessing the Crusader and Vestal shake their heads from side to side.

His blood turned cold, but he knew he couldn't just stand here forever. Quietly, he walked back to the Hamlet with his full party in tow. There he saw what he assumed was the Holy Knight, it was a young woman with long blonde hair with eyes of gold darting about. The outfit she wore was the cross between a dress and armor as she had a sword holstered at her side.

The Hamlet was quiet both from the lack of villagers and the aura of authority that came with her status.

Clearing his throat, he walked forward and would be spotted with mere moments. The Holy Knight walked up to Moriarity before saying, "Are you the Lord of this region?"

Her tone was serious as she already sounded like she had lost her patience.

Mentally calming himself down, he looked at her and spoke calmly as he said, "Yes, I am in fact the one considered a leader around these parts. How may I help you?"

"You have a problem, one that concerns you just as much as it concerns me. Long story short, I was guarding the princess of another land towards an important meeting of royalty. We traveled through this land relatively unhindered until our company was set upon by blood sucking fiends of the like, vampires of the sort. They have taken the princess and I have tracked them to a Courtyard within that building in the distance. As a dignitary of the Light, I issue a holy order to build up a militia so that we may rescue my charge."

With that Moriarity felt an eye twitch, success had only been met with more obstacles.

Undead and cults, now vampires...

The New Heir would be have his work cut out, now faced with a crisis such as thr kidnapping of a princess, how will he fare against a court drenched in crimson.

 **/So ends this chapter, now here is where we come up against the Crimson Court! I hope you are all excited as the Heir now either has to deal with bloody nobles or the weight of faith.**

 **/I hope you have all enjoyed the chapter**


	7. Chapter 6: The Days Will Only Get Harder

**"Are you telling me, that as Lord of this land, you are unable to muster a militia bigger then six people?"** yelled a certain Holy Knight who was sending glares as sharp as knives into the body of a certain Heir.

Moriarity winced almost taking a step back from the Holy Knight.

"I am unable to believe that haven't formed a proper militia or even a decently formed town guard. Please, do tell me that you are playing a form of a cruel joke?"

Moriarity said nothing and simply looked at her as her glares did not die down one bit. Instead, it only seemed they got even more cold as the Holy Knight took a step closer to Moriarity before saying, "Not only are vampires holding hostage royalty blessed by the Light itself, I find out that the Lord of this land is a weak man lacking the power and influence needed to run these lands."

"Your motley force is nothing impressive either to even make up for the number disadvantage we suffer." She said looking each and every one of his mercenaries with a cruel gaze.

"While I do respect the company of a Crusader and Vestal within your group, I fear their abilities are lacking when it comes to more specialized and frightening undead." She gave a nod towards as she said that showing an ounce of respect to her lower ranked members of faith.

"However, the rest of your crew look unimpressive and even look at unsavory as the bandits I have come across such as that fellow." The Holy Knight said pointing to Dismas.

The Highwayman glared at the woman and said, "You don't look too impressive yourself. Let's see how good that sword and mouth does ya when you are in my sights."

The Holy Knight only ignored Dismas as she focused her sights on the other members as she walked up to Vecsi.

"Greetings! So you are a holier presence then Reynauld or Em? Oh! That makes my tests so much more accurate if I am given jurisdiction to study your body! I do hope I study it alive and willing! Dead bodies don't give the best of results." The Plague Doctor said aloud only to receive a glare from the Knight in question.

"An unhinged doctor? I hope for all of your sakes that she isn't the one doing all of your medical tending. Be sure to keep this one on a short leash, I never trusted her sort. Always skulking about when a plague happens. Creepy sort that I wouldn't trust in the slightest, its a coincidence that you have one in your employ."

The words didn't seem to deflate the mood of the Plague Doctor who only mumbled to herself about possible tests to run.

The Holy Knight only shook her head at the Plague Doctor as shr turned her body towards Link and Tifa.

"I see, to include civilians into your crew, the least you could have done is provide them with decent armor and weaponry. Mere cloth and steel picked up off the ground won't do much good against monsters and abominations. Skill can only ever do so much before it fails to make up for less then quality materials. I assume you have requested the local smithery to produce quality equipment?"

Her eyes rested back onto a nervous Heir who simply gave her back an unsure look. This only made her pinch the bridge of her nose.

"Please, do tell me that you are joking, that you haven't been running this town without a proper way to arm your troops."

"Actually, these mercenaries that I have hired actually have weapons and armor beforehand." Moriarity counters only to receive a glare from the Holy Knight once more.

"So, your method of building up a force to protect this region is hiring mercenaries and expecting them to arrive with their own armor and weapons? Moreso, you expect them to also be able to maintain said armor and weapons in what seems to be a dead town lacking a proper working forge of some sort?"

"I claim not to be a perfect leader nor did I ever state that I could fix all problems. I have only recently arrived back to this place and have been doing my best as of late to keep things stable! I am aware it might not be as luxurious as you wish it to be, but last I checked, you were asking me for help. I will of course grant you that aid, but I must sincerely request you back off and remain quiet as I am both tired and sick of your mood and attitude!"

The Heir took a step forward and stared down the Holy Knight as both Reynauld and Emily watched with anxiety building.

Roya crossed her arms and says, "I see, taking charge? Might be the first good trait I've seen from you so far. Emphasis on might, I have no idea if this is genuine leadership skills or a noble too full of himself to see his own sinful folly."

"I guess the only way to find out is to go out and save this princess you speak of. For now, I suggest you take a chance to relax and set up a temporary room for yourself in the barracks. No use running into danger exhausted." Moriarity responded as he pointed towards the building.

The Holy Knight quietly walked past him, only the sounds of her metal plated dress could be heard as she walked away.

The tense air relaxed between the group as they watched the Holy Knight disappear into the barracks.

"That one's trouble, I tell ya, she'll have a few bullet holes in her chest if she thinks she can run that sword through me." Dismas said speaking up after a few moments of silence.

"I think she's just a tad bit stressed! You know the gist with devout followers! She reminds me almost of Reynauld." Vecsi added in her ever joyful tone.

"Like me? How?" The Crusader questioned in turn as he tilted his head at the curious woman.

"Well, she has this commanding presence very reminiscent of you, minus your habit of randomly taking what you find. A certain confidence that some invisble force is looking out for you. Though, its also fair to say that she also reminds me of Dismas!"

"What the hell? Are you kidding me? I don't see how that overconfident and pompous bitch has anything in common with me." Dismas quickly responded. He hated the idea for obvious reasons regarding his current disposition with said Holy Knight.

"Well, you both have the tendency to lash out considering that you both have done so to me upon greeting. You both also seem to be antisocial and show clear symptoms of possible trauma. Hmm, I wonder if she has a dead loved one, that would allow me to focus on ways to cure both her and you. Ah, the plague of humanity... Always so many problems that need to be fixed."

"I find your obsession to be quite annoying to be honest, nobody is asking you to play doctor with the world."

"Of course, that would be silly. I find my behavior to be well accepted in my line of work. Who else can cure the plagues if one didn't show the clear want for it. Desire can be the seed to cure or make new plagues, maybe one day, I'll cure you all." The Plague Doctor said looking away from the group before mumbling to herself.

"Alright, that's it. Too much craziness for one day, you go and save that princess, I'm going to go and get drunk." Dismas stated before leaving without the chance for anyone to oppose his decision.

The Heir simply let out a sigh before looking at Link and Tifa and informing to the two to stay in the town and get some rest. The green garbed warrior nodded silently before wandering off to do errands of his own as Tifa followed after Dismas, she had plans to make sure the Highwayman didn't cause trouble in the bar and its patrons.

This left Reynauld, Emily, and Vecsi to stand out in the open with Moriarity.

"Alright, everybody here, you are all going on the expedition into the Courtyard. Reynauld and Emily are obvious reasons to go considering their holy and religious background giving them experience within this area. Vecsi, I plan to have you come along in the case that we come into blood related problems, I don't want to find out what happens if one indulges a bloodsucker and having a doctor of some sorts might help in case of bleeding." Moriarity said looking at each person before continuing on.

"Anyway, I want you all to meet me here tomorrow morning, I plan to bring Roya along, she out of all of us seems skilled enough to deal with this threat. If all goes according to plan, we get in and get out with a princess, I only hope its that simple."

Before he could say any more on the issue, he heard the ringing of a bell that got closer. Fully aware of who this was, he quietly braced himself as the ringing was soon against his left ear as the towncrier yelled, "Hear ye, hear ye! Local news! Recent Lord is dragged into a problem and its serious, rumor has it that its bloodsuckers! Will this end well?"

"You know, my job is hard enough as is, I don't need to deal with panic..."

"Sorry, "Milord", news nowadays doesn't come easy and you aren't doing yourself many favors with the way things are going. Though, I guess this is an exception, everybody knows you are terrible with women." The Towncrier said before snickering to herself.

"Anyways, don't get too hung up on this, threats of dying any second is normal around here, plus the first people to get back here are drunks so you don't need to worry about revolts anytime soon. Anyways, I don't know if your caretakers mentioned this before, but the Blacksmith and his daughter are back. That means the smithy is up and running again, a godsend considering how your little force here looks in their shoddy armor. I also suggest you get them to the trainers too, those two warriors are just itching for disciples." The Towncrier said to the Heir before taking out her flask from her belt and took a swig of it before wiping her mouth with her sleeve.

"Really?! That might be one of the few bits of good news that I have heard today. Wait..."

"You remember now? You are a terrible friend, you know that?"

"Yes, I am well aware that I am and have done things I've come to regret. I have messed up..."

"Yeah, you have... This is what happens when you just disappear... Didn't you even think about the people you leave behind. I suggest you talk to her soon, so help me, if you even think of letting this go on, then I am going to know your teeth out." The Towncrier warned before walking away to inform what little of the town was here at the moment.

Watching the towncrier walk away, the Heir only looked towards the ground. Memories of this place were becoming bitter and it didn't help that he hadn't made any effort on his part to the friends he made here. With much on his mind, he passed a bag of gold to Reynauld and told him to take the Emily and Vecsi and get their gear sorted out.

Meanwhile, he was going to head back to the barracks, he had much to think on in terms of what his further actions would be in this town.

Making it towards the barracks, he pushed the door open only to be privy to a strange sight, three strangers. The First one was a heavily built man with scars running across his body. His size looked to tower over an average as spiked gauntlets were worn around his arms and his head was covered by a helmet made of copper with holes decorating the front to allow the man to see. Standing in the corner of the room was a man dressed in simple robes and carried with his a single blade, his hair was simply black and he possessed a bandana as the man was currently sharpening his sword in a quiet manner. The third stranger was a man dressed in heavy armor and wielded a mace and shield in each hand. He wore an eyepatch and bore the look of a grizzled veteran.

Immediately, as soon as he opened the the door, all three of the men saw Moriarity as the heavily armored man stood up and with arms crossed walked over to Moriarity and said, "I see our employer is here, lets say we talk about business now."

 **"As more of my sins are uncovered, more of your sins are revealed. A terrible price we all face, we foolish men who think they have escaped."**

 **/Alright! Finally got this chapter out! Been busy all week, but now I can finally move this story along! Like always, I appreciate any criticism!**

 **/Anyways, if you are wondering who these newcomers are, these are the Ronin, the Thrall, and the Man At Arms! I'm pretty excited to see what stories I can weave from their own little tidbits and lore!**


	8. Chapter 7: A Bloody Day To Come

Another day, the sun rises as the darkness parts to allow the ever burning orb cover the land. With the rise of the sun came the rise of men and women alike, some awoke to experience a new day, unfortunately for the Heir, this new day was one of many that surely would drive him to madness. To combat such dark forces took a toll upon the mind, such a heavy toll that he wouldn't wish it upon even his worst enemies.

Sitting up and covered in cold sweat, he looked out towards his window and at the sight of his family estate.

"Blood suckers... Vampires... What in the hell did you get yourself into, old man?" The Heir said to himself quietly as he ran his hand through his black hair.

Undead, Cultists, and now Vampires. He knew that his grandfather dabbled in the dark arts as explained in his letter about some strange power underneath the estate. He just never how deep any of this went. Was all of this just one big coincidence?

As much as he tried to shake off whatever doubt was plaguing his mind, he found that he couldn't. What other dark secrets would be brought to the light. His thought process took into a deep void, one that would be inescapable if it wasn't for the firm knocks against his door and the silent murmurs of a prayer.

"Are you well this morning? You know we have much to do, especially since I have left my dear lady in the unholy hands of cretins for far longer then I can tolerate." Said a voice, commanding and ever so righteous.

Moriarity looked up to find Roya leaning against the doorway. Her eyes were calm and steady, her arms were crossed, and her armor was shining with not a single speck of dirt or grime seen.

"I see, I am fine... Just simply coming to grips with issues I haven't seen that were right in front of me. A minor issue I can shake off with ease." The Heir said and flashed at her a weary and tired smile.

This only made the Holy Knight shake her head as she stood straight and said, "Steel your nerves, the path ahead will be dark and marked with blood. I know this might be pointless to say, but do not let what I said yesterday cloud your mind and judgement. I was simply frustrated with the situation, you were chosen to lead, so that must count for something. Lead the way you feel is right, allow doubt to take you for only a second and we will all face the consequences together."

With that, the Holy Knight simply walked off as the sounds of her heavy footsteps became more and more faint until he could hear them no more.

While not feeling all that better, it was a weight lifted from his shoulder. With the conviction to begin the day, he spent a few minutes placing himself into a new set of clothes and wore his signature coat and placed on his back his pack to carry around items and such that they found along their treks into his family estate.

With his attire and tools prepared, he looked towards the open door of his room and proceeded to walk out of it and the barracks entirely. With his small team of four, he decided to not allow the team to go beyond that number for two reasons. Reason one was that too many people could lead to their group losing any element of surprise when trekking out into areas of the estate as well as make it hard to keep track of everyone. Reason two was that the Hamlet would be virtually defenseless without a few people on standby to keep it safe. That was what he had assigned the rest of the mercenaries to do while he was off on an expedition.

With that thought out of the way, he made his way towards the rendevous point. On his way there, he saw more people walking around the streets of the Hamlet. While there weren't many people at the moment to rival the populations of other towns, it seems that life was once again thriving from the little town forgotten by the world. Most of those who walked the streets were old men and women, probably people who were too stubborn to leave the Hamlet for other potential homes. They walked about carefully though were relaxed enough to openly talk with one another as he carefully eyed some of his mercenaries walking about. Tifa was outside the entrance of the tavern keeping close watch near her area and ocassionally peeking into the building for any trouble she needed to care about. He also assumed Dismas was there as the last he had heard from the Highwayman was that he was going to indulge in quite a bit of drinking.

He could see Link tending matters in the graveyard as he saw flashes of the green garb worn by the adventurer. Standing near the stone bridge that led into the town stood the Thall Darandal and Man-At-Arms Rennes. Both seemed to be discussing subjects with one another, though he wouldn't exactly hear what Rennes spoke of nor could he understand the grunts and growls of the mysterious and scarred Thrall. He looked ahead to find the Ronin, Hamage. The warrior from a far off land was sharpening his curved blade near the door of the blacksmith, a building he would avoid going near for the time being. Nodding to the Ronin and receiving a nod back, he continued on his way towards where he would meet with his party for the current expedition into the courtyard.

Ahead of him, he saw his group waiting in front of the general store. Reynauld was staring at his sword and examining it closely to admire the detail in his reforged and newly improved sword, Vecsi was carving into the wood of the building with her improved knife to test its sharpness while her bomb pouch looked less like patchwork and looked to be made of actual quality leather, and Emily was giving her new mace a couple of swings to test how well it held together. They soon stopped their examinations once Roya made it known to them that the Heir had arrived and that the time to exmaine their new gear was over. The Heir walked up to the general store to see Ludwig manning the general store like always.

"Ah! Welcome! Welcome to the general store, Young Master!" Ludwig said with open arms and wore his usual crooked smile.

"Lidwig, what has you in such a good mood. Actually, better question is, are you actually sober right now? You seem genuinely happy and you aren't drunk or showing symptoms of it." The Heir asked curiously.

"Ah! Ever the impeccable eyesight, Young Master! You are indeed correct! Usually, I would be drunk out of my mind this morning, but it seems my dear sister has beat me to my stash! I must say, it surprised me quite a bit! Somehow, that wasn't the end of it! She went to the tavern to have a day off! Said that I should be fine on my own!"

"I apologize if that is the case... I did not mean to increase your workload..." The Heir spoke still quite confused as to how to answer this.

"Oh! No need to apologize, Young Master! Instead, this is the symbol that proves that things will go alright! In all my time that I've known my sister, she had dutifully served your family without complaint or even a raise in payment. To see her actually relaxing, its something I believed I would never see in my lifetime. While it is a shame she took up the only seat in the bar where one can repeatedly drink, I think she deserves it. Now, I know I'm not the best in terms of a person, I'm a drunk, I have commited a few sins and vices, and I most certainly have been a target of corruption. Though, I try to pride myself in being a good brother to my sister, to see her finally giving herself a break, I feel at peace. I think this behavior is all thanks to you, Young Master."

"Me? How? I don't understand how my presence lightened the load of this small little town."

"Oh, but it did! With the presence of another Moriarity, word is getting around to folks that proper leadership is coming back to the town. Whether it be true or not, it has raised morale. Not only that, but people feel much safer with your armed mercenaries around. I feel bandits won't be coming here too often anymore and any problems of monsters will be handed to you and your capable guardsmen to handle. Heck, I don't feel so inclined to bribe bandits not to attack this town anymore and can finally work on restoring a few buildings! Maybe some actual beds around here instead of hay and pieces of cotton."

"I see, it seems I have much more in the way of work to clear out? I never imagined Grand Father would leave this plave in such a state, though I guess he was growing senile with his old age."

"While your Grand Father wasn't the best in managing things, he was respected by the people, Young Master. Anyways, let the dead rest, I imagine you and your little party here didn't come by for a simple chat with poor old Ludwig! You are going out on another of your nasty expeditions."

"Indeed, we are." Roya said speaking up as the Holy Knight walked up with her arms crossed and a serious look upon her face.

"Ah, who might you be? I recognize the others, that Crusader fellow patrols around the town in the morning, that little Vestal helps out around the abbey, and I believe I have seen that Plague Doctor lasslass follow a much more gruffer lad around. Dismas was his name? Last I saw of him, he was stalking around the brothel. Eh, but I haven't seen much of you actually."

"I see, I am-" However, before Roya could answer back, she was interrupted by a sudden response from the Plague Doctor, Vecsi.

"WHAT!? A BROTHEL!?" The Plague Doctor said aloud in a panicked tone.

This sudden wad enough to make everybody around jump as they stared at Vecsi who was muttering to herself madly. She then looked up suddenly at Ludwig who consciously took a step back, she then immediately ran towards him and up to the counter as she yelled, "WHERE!? WHERE AND WHEN DID YOU SEE HIM ENTER THE BROTHEL!?"

Before the Plague Doctor could proceed with her questioning, she found herself grabbed and held still by Reynauld. The Crusader was surprised to see that even for her size, the Plague Doctor was still able to put up some sort of fight while being held by him.

The Heir walked in front of the Plague Doctor as Emily was attempting to check if Ludwig was fine while Roya kept her hand on the handle of her sword in case the Plague Doctor became hostile.

"Vecsi! Calm yourself! What has got you acting like this?" The Heir inquired as he made sure to keep his distance as to not be victim to the flailing limbs swung around.

Vecsi remained unresponsive for a bit and continued to wildly move before finally calming down a few moments later. She was breathing heavily before she recovered and looked up to say to Moriarity, "I'm simply worried! Brothels are quite a place where germs and diseases take place! I wasn't even done making sure the place was properly quarantined for further examinations. What if Dismas catches a disease? What if this spreads to the rest!? I would have failed my duty as a doctor if I allowed such a thing to happen!"

"Look, I'm sure Dismas is a responsible adult who knows not to bed common harlots. Have faith in his cleverness and his sense for dangers... Or terrible life choices." The Heir said in an attempt to assure the Plague Doctor, though that came with partial success.

The Heir looked back at Ludwig and simply said, "Yes, before anything else happens, I think it wise if I were to order my supplies now."

Ludwig nodded, the caretaker pulled out a hankerchief from his pocket to wipe the sweat coming off his forehead before stuffing it back into his backpocket as he said, "Indeed, wouldn't be all that good to keep you waiting. Oh, since I heard that you are heading to the Courtyards, I have prepared something special for just this case."

The caretaker bent down knocking over a few glass items before pulling out three torches though these were covered in a black and sticky substance.

"Do not be alarmed, Master Moriarity. After hearing some of the complaints from the town, it seems we have something of a bug infestation. If you were to be so kind, maybe you can burn some hives while you're out trekking amongst the unknown ruins of your home!"

The Heir nods and places these special torches into his pack as he said, "I see, I might as well kill two birds with one stone. Of course, I'd much rather prefer birds then bloodsuckers..."

This only illicited a hearty laugh from the caretaker as Ludwig said, "Don't we all, Master Moriarity. Now lets get you some supplies. Hopefully enough to come back with stories to tell and not your body to bury..."

With that the exchange proceeded, a bag of gold for the following items. Twelve pounds of food, two shovels, a single bottle of holy water, and eight torches. With the supplies gathered and a certain Plague Doctor having to be held down from running back into the town, the group set off for the ruins of a once proud family home.

Of course the trek wouldn't be completely silent amongst the party. Once the Plague Doctor calmed down, she was allowed to finally walk on her own. She walked beside Reynauld, muttering to herself about poasible tonics and herbs. Theories on how to treat a multitude of diseases filled the air. Emily stayed a good distance away focusing on her prayers, Roya already showing a clear dislike and distrust for the Plague Doctor stayed in the front of the group. This left Reynauld to be her only close traveling companion.

"What are you muttering about?" Reynauld said after a period of silence from the rest of the party.

The Plague Doctor didn't respond at first, it almost seemed that she didn't even hear him at all. This would have prompted the Crusader to continue walking with his head facing forward, but was stopped as he felt a hand behind placed on his armor over the spot where his heart was located.

He looked down to find Vecsi firmly placing a hand on his chest before quietly resting the side of her head against where his heart was as if to try and hear it. Soon enough, she pulled back and looked up at him. While their respective headgear prevented them from being able to see each other face to face, they still kept some sort of eye contact or stare.

"Hmm... Healthy... Yes, that would make sense considering your background. Might I suggest you come by my quarters this evening for further studies? Assuming that I won't be dragging your corpse out from whatever hellish landscape we walk into. I find dying ruins the conditions of very valuable research material."

She spoke in a controlled and proper fashion as if to appeal to his civility.

"Ummm... I see, we shall see soon enough." Reynauld said as he didn't know how to respond or say to that. His knowledge of medicine beyond bandaging and cleaning wounds was limited.

"Good... Also, I was simply bouncing ideas of possible cures off myself... To answer your question, that is." The Plague Doctor spoke in an awkward manner. It seems when she wasn't obsessing over diseases and cures, she was an awkward sort.

Reynauld nods quietly before saying, "Why are you so passionate about your work? I mean it simply can't be because you are a plague doctor, you treat plagues and diseases with an almost fervent behavior."

Silence would meet the Crusader after he said that as Vecsi looked down with an almost dark look to her. She then simply looks up and says in a cheerful tone, "We all have our reasons for the actions we choose. You chose to be a Crusader whether it be willing or not. I chose to be a Plague Doctor. In time, maybe I'll go into further detail, though for now I think we should focus on the task at hand. Wouldn't want to lose your head to any dastardly foe we might face!"

She soon enough chuckles before moving on with a lighter spring in her step. The Crusader smiles, satisfied with at least helping one of his fellow teammates into a more pleasing state, he regrouped with them back into his position.

Soon enough, the group came across a walled off garden of sorts, the only entrance being an entrance holding a large gate that was broken down, its metal bent violently as it laid against the floor.

"I see the gardens look worse for wear, don't know how I feel about this expedition anymore. We may be out of our league." The Heir spoke up breaking the silence that permeated through the air.

"We are out of our league, I simply hope you all are well trained enough and hardened to get out of this with our lives intact. As much as I hate loose ends, it would be foolish of all of us to think we can clear this entire place of the bloodsuckers with our current skills and abilities." Roya spoke up as she looked adamant, her arms were crossed and her eyes contained within them a fire as her form was momentarily bathed in a holy aura.

There would be no chance in convicing the Holy Knight is turning around at this point.

Sighing, he pulled out a torch and lit it, the garden held a dark presence, enough to drown any light that dared shine over the garden. With the slight motion of his head, he lead the group into the twisting hallways of the gardens. The scent in the air smelled out blood and iron, a sickly scent followed by a crimson stained garden.

With weapons drawn and conviction steeled, they walked over the fallen metal gate and into the labyrinth that was the Gardens. As they made their way through the narrow hallways of the sickly red gardens, many thoughts ran through the minds of each of the travelling men and women.

Reynauld and Roya both kept their blades raised and ready, their ever cautious eyes on the lookout for any approaching abominations that dare see them as a target. Emily cautiously read her prayers from her tome, her attempts to remain calm were met with momentary peace before she continued to whisper her prayers. Vecsi was actively moving about, with a notepad in hand as well as a pencil in the other. The Plague Doctor madly wrote and scribbled down the sights she saw in fascination.

This wasn't anything like from his childhood at all, The Heir had many fond memories of the Gardens. Running throughout the maze in childlike curiosity, now he only feared what lurked behind each corner as the light of his torch dimmed with each step.

Suddenly, a twig snapped from behind them and soon enough, both Reynauld and Roya quickly turned around with swords in their hands as they saw a frail figure standing in the distance. They could only see the silhouette of the man, but they could see how thin his figure was and heard raspy and painful breathing.

Moriarity felt his blood turn cold as he saw this, soon enough the man in the distance would take a step forward and another step after that. With arms outstretched, this man began to slowly approach the group.

"STOP WHERE YOU STAND!" Roya commanded, her sword glowed with a holy essence as her holy power was channeled through her blade.

Still, it wasn't enough to deter the man as he walked closer and closer and soon when he was close enough to be seen more clearly by the torch Moriarity held, they saw a sight that was considered hellish.

Standing in front of them was a deteriating corpse of a man, his body was rotting and thin, his eyes were hollow, and claws were seen at the end of its hands and feet. The corpse wore the torn garb of a noble from some far off land even complete with a wig of messy and dirtied hair.

Immediately, Roya ran forward and delivered a slash at its midsection, but just as fast as she had swung her sword, the deteriorating man caught her sword by the blade and held her sword up. The man began to sniff the air before saying quietly in a raspy tone, "W-Warmth... BLOOD!" It screamed out for its desire for blood as Roya swung her body and kicked the decaying man away.

The man slowly got up without a second wasted and attempted to rush at her once more with a feral like animosity, however this would be interrupted as Reynauld had run towards the bloodsucker to jam his sword into the chest of the undead abomination.

The decayed man stumbled back for a moment from the force of such a charge before Reynauld felt a hand grab him by the throat and throw him onto his back a few feet away.

Letting out a hellish screech, the man ran at Roya and slashed at her with its sharp claws as the Holy Knight would meet each attack blow for blow as decaying and deathly claws met holy steel.

Each clash caused sparks to rain out as each deadly combatant fought with vigor and zeal, each seeking to end the other with a well placed cut or slice. Reynauld slowly pushed himself back onto his feet, breathing heavily, he saw that his sword was still lodged into the chest of the decayed man before gaining an idea. Whispering to himself a prayer, he held out his hand towards his sword and with a mighty boom of his voice yelled out, **"HOLY LANCE!"**

Light engulfed the arm that Reynauld held out as he focused his sights onto his blade before holy lightning shot out of his hand and struck into his sword causing the blade to push through the decayed man and left a burning hole into his chest. Effectively, having what could be compared to a sharp lightning rod going through one's abdomen, the decayed man fell to his knees. Clawing at his flesh as if to cut out the burning pieces and prevent more mind numbing pain, a quick flash could be seen in it's vision before it's head rolled off it's shoulders and fell to the floor before the body followed.

Roya made short work of the feral bloodsucker, as skilled as a holy warrior that she was, even she herself had limits to her strength compared to the undead. Turning back to look at Reynauld, she slowly made her way over to his sword to retrieve it before making her way over to Reynauld to offer him back his holy weapon.

"It was good thinking for you to try something like that, not many I have come across attempt to use more creative methods to dealing with the undead, especially those of a lower status such as yourself, with proper training and dedication, maybe you would make for a proper apprentice to a Holy Knight, or at least put up enough to be considered by those of the church of the Light." Roya said, her blade placed back into its sheath as both Emily and Vecsi made their way over to tend to the two.

Emily was quiet during her entire time looking and tending the two over. She was speechless to say the least, here in front of her were two devout followers of the Light, able to summon upon its power in only a moments notice. Meanwhile, here she was, a lowly vestal, only able to heal, but the smallest of injuries. These two were practically beacons of light, what she should aspire to be as the strength of their faith was inspiring. It only hurt to think of her own strength, what sort of power could she summon from the Light, but simple healing spells.

Meanwhile, Vecsi did not tend them in a traditional manner. Instead, it seemed she only had her notebook out as she studied both Reynauld and Roya, though the latter made her examinations more scarce in terms of information. Her mind was racing with possibilities, while not a firm believer in the Light, she had her own theories. Instead of chalking up their abilities to holy power, she on the other hand believed that the things she had witnessed were, but miracles of the cells. Reynauld's recent show of ability for an affinity for lightning. Her theories could only assume that Roya's was something similar in a manner.

"Vecsi, may I ask that you stop looking at me so intently? Perhaps, you should stop tugging at my armor, I don't know how I quite feel about a maiden so stubbornly attempting to get... Close to me." Reynauld said awkwardly as he used his hands to keep the Plague Doctor at a distance.

"Reynauld! You can't honestly be expecting one such as I to pass up an opoortunity such as this! A phenomenon such as this must be studied to the last inch!" Vecsi said excitedly as she didn't even flinch from the blade pointed at her.

Roya held the sword up to the Plague Doctor with eyes filled with burning fury. "If you know what is good for you, you will leave this man alone, Caretaker of Coming Deaths!"

"Now now, let us all calm down, surely we don't need to start any quarrels or at the very least hold them until after we are done. This area is quite dangerous and considering how powerful that one was, I fear the road will only become more treacherous the more we travel on. Moriarity, can you help to provide reason and act as mediator for these two." Reynauld said before looking up to see that the Heir was not standing where he was moments ago.

In the place of the air was his bag, rips could be seen across the bag and the supplies were littered acrkss the ground. What was most concerning would be a black puddle of sorts lingering in the spot where the Heir stood as it let out a most foul and deathly stench.

The Heir was missing, lost within the labyrith...

 **"Know this my grandson, my soul knows much more tremors then you could ever know. May the Light have mercy for the hell you will experience..."**

 **/Greetings! Ran into a few complications in trying to get this chapter done. One of them is finals and the other is that my save for the game crashed! Yes! That means now we are running on pure creative writing folks! That explains why the chapter left off on a mystery, this story isn't going to be following the typical story! That means mystery! For me, more creative freedom!**

 **/What happened to the Heir? What else could be lurking in the gardens? Find out next time on, Darkest Dungeon: Modded Edition!**


	9. Chapter 8: Darkness

**"Darkness... Ever consuming..."**

 **"The Blood of the traitor... The Blood of the Madman... The Blood of the Wicked... The Blood of the old Madness..."**

 **"Binding the blood together is the symbol of madness, a crown of thorns, a fitting apparel for the supposed king... One who always is, but a pawn for higher beings..."**

Awakening, Moriarity opened his eyes to find himself hanging upside down. Jarring enough, there would be a stench of the thick scent of iron permeating through the air. Looking down, he found he was suspended over a barrel of blood. This was not any normal blood, the insidious liquid below was darkened and upon closer inspection, he found that he could see figures dancing within the blood. Images flashed through his mind the more he stared into the blood, soon enough he began to hear screams and shouts. Shrill cries and enigmatic whispering seemingly came from the walls as he could see a symbol forming on the surface of the liquid. The family insignia burned into his mind was forming in the blood, a crown representing prestige, but in the blood looked like a symbol of pure and utter madness.

The more he stared into the maddening symbol, the more he felt his mind fracture. It wouldn't be until the slamming of the door to this room that he was snapped out of this mad trance he was in. The room looked the same as well as the barrel of blood except there was a clear absence of the voices and his family seal. He looked towards the doorway see a finely dressed corpse walking in. He could see the man's fangs hang out from his open mouth as the bloodsucker was hissing and biting at the air for the sweet crimson nectar it sought. It moved towards Moriarity to grab at the barrel below the Heir. Before it left the room, it snarled and whispered into his ear, _Your blood will be next... The blood of the wicked old man will sate our appetite, you will serve in his place."_

Just as swift as he had arrived, the corpse soon enough was gone with the door slammed shut.

Moriarity would be alone in darkness or that was what he thought until he felt a sharp pain run through his head. He could feel that it was the same mind numbing pain from when he heard the voices only this time, he could only faintly hear a single voice. It sounded like it was attempting to say something to him as he could hear the sound getting louder and louder with each second he was immersed within the pain.

The moment that he felt the pain in his head was the equivalent of his bead being split open, he heard a voice he thought he would never be able to hear again. He looked up quickly to find that floating in front of him would be his grandfather, a blue specter bathed in a ethereal light.

 **"Not quite how I imagined we would meet again.** **We would meet again, of course, I never would have imagined that there was still anything living within a blood starved place such as this."**

"I can't believe it, I truly have gone mad. Skeletons, specters, cultists, and even blood suckers. It was all just my mind playing cruel tricks on me, wasn't it!?" Moriarity yelled out towards the visage of his ancestor. Rubbing his eyes, he expected the ghost to leave and vanish from his sights. Instead, he only stayed and this time had his arms crossed with a dark look on his face.

 **"Now now, do not allow your mind to wander just yet my unfortunate grandson. The world has had enough of one madman raving within his home, surely it does not require another. You are the last of my ilk, sadly the pleasure of losing your mind is not something I will allow one bit. Now, are you done flailing around like a fish out of water or should I resort to giving you a firm slap until your faculties have caught up?"** The Senior Moriarity spoke, his tone ever strong and cold.

Mathius Moriarity continued to struggle, only to overexert himself and be left breathing heavily before looking at his elder and saying, "You are truly there, aren't you? That means this is all too real..."

"Why? What compelled you to think that any of this was at all a good idea? What have you done!? Bloodsuckers hunting in the courtyards, skeletons hunting the halls of our home, Cultists inviting what evil spirits into this abode! What compelled you to think at all that any of this would be right!?"

 **"As much as I'd like to waste time, we have no such luxury. Those foul creatures will return soon enough and your blood will be what they feast upon if you toil here past midnight. Free yourself from those bonds and we may leave this place behind and cleanse it at a much later date."**

"If I could have freed myself, don't you think I would have already! Or did you come back from the dead to pester me in how I'm not some scholarly adventurer like you or any other of my ancestors!?"

The two members of the Moriarity family stared each other down, the ancient dead looking down upon the living, while the younger held resentment for the actions of the old. This stare would have gone on for centuries if it had not been for the scream of a maiden that their attention would be taken. The Ghost quickly took a look towards the direction of the door before returning his stern gaze towards his descendant.

 **"We have wasted enough time as is! Listen carefully! I will only repeat these instructions once, fail to follow them exactly and you'll lose more then just your blood! Focus on the rope keeping you suspended and keep a close and unwavering focus upon it. Hesitate for even a moment or lose focus for a second and you will wish you have been taken by the undead of the ruins."**

As much as he resented his grandfather, he found that mindlessly flailing about would bring him no peace nor would it bring him any closer to escaping his predicament. He breathed slowly to steady his breath and closed his eyes momentarily before opening them and focusing on the rope.

The Ancestor saw this and nodded as he floated closer to the younger Moriarity, his face close to his ear, he spoke saying, **"Good, continue to watch the rope quietly. Let it comsume all focus you have and be the only thing you acknowledge. Now, when that is established, I want you to gather the stress and follies of your current life and imagine a dark flame within your mind."**

The Ancestor then goes quiet and proceeds to back off while Mathius was left with instructions to follow. He took to the task of keeping his vision solely on the rope, so much so as to develop a tunnel vision for it. With that out of the way, he did what his ancestor described next as he gathered the current stress he felt over the last few days and gathered them to form a flame, a mental construct of his stress. He then felt himself begin to choke up as the insignia of his family would appear in his mind around the dark flame he imagined and looked to be containing it in some sort of manner. Remembering the instructions clearly, he didn't dare to lose focus on the flame, instead he continued to channel his stress into the flame as the room slowly grew more warmer in temperature. Soon, the rope snapped, its integrity eaten away by dark flames manifested from unholy magic.

 **"Good, good, let us leave this infernal place quickly! Lady Luck is a cruel mistress and fate is ever fickle, follow the advice of the dead if the words of your fallen blood do not reach you!"** The Ancestor spoke, his ghostly arms ever crossed as he urged his descendant more and more.

His spectral face grew ever frustrated when he was given no reply, his descendant, The Heir paid him no mind even after he was freed from his bonds. Instead of leaving the room, the boy opened the door slightly ajar to peer out of the room as if to observe the outside, as if looking for something. He left the room soon enough, though he did not follow his Ancestor, instead he seemed to be heading deeper into bowels of this strange building.

 **"What in the Nine Hells are you doing!? Have you any idea the madness of your choices to go further!? Leave this place! You are not ready nor do you possess even the smallest hint of martial skill possessed by your mercenaries! I suggest you take my words to heart if you wish continue to value your life!"**

"Shut it, old man, last I checked, I am not the one who grew bored with what he had and decided to unleash untold evils upon the place of our family abode, as I am the living and you are the dead, I seek to not follow your examples in life. If that scream was anything, some fair maiden is in danger. Leave it to my grandfather to immediately turn to running and condemn those he associates himself with rather then to stay and do what is right. You may proudly wear the sacrifices of the men and women who had foolishly followed you, but the weight of those following me and dying would be too much a burden to carry, to abandon what could be an innocent life to monsters is an unforgivable sin." Moriarity stated, his eyes meeting the spectral orbs of his grandfather's.

He continued down the hallway, he had gained enough help from the dead, now was the business of living. The Heir made sure that each step he took was slow, careful, and quiet. These Bloodsuckers have shown enough supernatural strength and senses to leave him worried and afraid, that even taking a step that made as much sound as a mouse would alert a horde of the undead to his position. The undead were ever unnerving, the way their bodies twitched was enough to send shivers down the spine of the young Moriairty.

No matter how many times he would habe to face the undead, it still unnerved him about how they could possibly exist. his thoughts on the undead soon stopped however as he could hear the faint whimpers of a woman nearby. At the end of the hall he had been walking down, he could see stone railing with stairs leading down to the lower part of the room. At this part of the room he found what looked to be a decrepit room filled with funiture that might've been considered lavish back in a simpler time.

He found the source of the whimpers rather quickly as chained against the wall was a girl, her dress torn and blood stained, her body covered in bruises as bite wounds seem to be commonly found around her neck. The Heir wondered how the girl still managed to continue breathing past all of those wounds. Any other noticable features he could see of the maiden was of her messy long blonde hair, her torn red cloak over a white dress, and her dirtied fair skin.

 **"If you are done gawking** **at this woman, I suggest that you quickly take her and leave. It seems she had become a feeding host for the bloodsuckers, I know from experience that their thrist isn't too easily sated. They will be back soon."** The Heir let out an annoyed groan, though his feet did begin to move towards the girl.

"A surprise that you are still around, weren't you just a while ago opting for the chance to leave this one to die?" The Heir asked, his hand bringing up a dagger to make work of the shackles that bind the girl to the wall.

 **"While it is clear that we are at odds,** **I refuse to doom the world because we were unable to compromise.** **You need guidance through the manor and I need someone able bodied and alive to complete a series of task to reclaim our family honor.**

"Finally, something that comes out of your mouth that makes sense. Keep a close eye out for those Bloodsuckers, I think I'm almost able to get her out of her shackles."

The Ancestral Spirit gave a simple nod and floated about as The Heir jammed his dagger against the shackles and soon enough snapped the binds apart. His arms quickly moved to catch the girl for as soon as she was free from her shackles, her body was subject to gravity. He was quite surprised to find how light she felt in his arms and with her this close, he noticed features of her face and body that he did not notice before such as her soft lips and feminine features that teased through the shape of her body that her robes took on.

The Young Moriairty mentally slapped himself before he went on.

 _"Pull yourself together, Mathius! Now is not the time to let base human instincts take over. You are a gentlemen first before anything else!"_ The Heir thought to himself as he held her close and turned to his Grandfather. The spirit had a ghost of a smile on his face.

 **"Ehem, do you perhaps need a moment with this fair maiden? I certainly hope that I am not being a bother for this little encounter, I know that moments such as this require much tact, excitement behind closed doors is a situation I have much experience in. One that I might be willing to share."**

"Perverted old man, just lead us out of this hellhole." The Heir snapped at his Grandfather through a terrible blush that has arose from his cheeks.

The Ghost let out an amused laugh, he then began to float up the stairs to which the Heir followed with the girl in his arms. judging from the elegance of her dress, this must've been the princess who had been taken by the vampires. He had to admit, she certainly looked the part.

Time passed, as the group took many different turns. Whenever the presence of something evil was close, there would be the crack in the walls that The Heir and girl could reliably hide in.

So far, escape has been looking hopeful as they reached what looked to be an exit that lead out into the Gardens. While still far from The Hamlet, they were getting closer. Yet, as fate seemed to have offered them a symbol of good will, its fortunes changed as well.

 **"Jump into the bushes now! Something is making its way here quickly!"** His Ancestor beckoned out to him.

Not wasting even a second, Moriarity threw himself to the bushes and remained quiet. For a moment he felt or heard nothing besides the ground and the faint buzz of mosquitos. A few moments passed before he felt a faint tremor, the ground shook and the air grew ever louder with the buzzing of wings.

looking through the bushes he saw a massive group of the bloodsuckers coming out from the entrance where he had just been. He could hear their mouths snapping at the air, the droning buzzing that came from their wings, the hunger that came from their panting.

Only when they were far enough away would The Ancestor speak up.

 **"I think it abudantly clear that they have noticed your escape as well as your little rescue attempt** **. Find your way out of the Gardens quickly, lest they find and do away with you."** The Ancestor spoke, his spectral eyes looking about to keep watch of any other bloodsucker that might've been nearby.

The Heir nodded and soon left the safety of the bushes as he took to the path closest to him. His feet move at a hastened pace, with the increase of Bloodsuckers within the area, getting to the exit would be all that harder. He kept the girl close to his chest, she still had yet to awaken, maybe that was a blessing when one considered what was stacked against him.

Taking a left turn, he ended up in some large field that stretched for some time. He saw within the distance feet that looked to belong to a statue at one point. Though, he couldn't quite tell where the rest of the statue pieces were, though he noted that a red liquid oozed around the area.

Before any further inspection could be taken, The Heir heard an ear piercing scream, behind him was a Bloodsucker who happened upon him while he was here. His body tensed up as he watched around him as other Bloodsuckers were coming out of the bushes, their fangs snapping at his direction. He held the Princess close to his chest as he was slowly being surrounded as Bloodsuckers were coming at him from all sides.

Thinking that this could have been the end for him, he pulled up his knife with one hand while keeping the other one to support the princess. He held his knife in front of him as he was ready to stab and slash at the nearest Vampire that came. Before he would be set upon by any of the Bloodsuckers, something strange occurred.

A whistle through the air could be heard as a large stone shield landed upon a couple of the Bloodsuckers, the blood that they had accumulated would leave the soil stained with blood as their bodies were beyond recognition, now simply mangled corpses underneath the Stone Shield.

 **"Run now, if that Shield is here, the rest of it is not too far behind."** The Ancestor mumbled under his breath as a stone arm holding a bloodied stone spear would come from the side to skewer and stab at a couple of the Bloodsuckers as the Stone Shield moved back as tremors could be felt, dirt moved by a Fallen Guardian.

The Heir bolted for the exit out of the flat plains and back into the intricate labyrinth that was the Gardens. He had no idea what had just happened back there nor did he fully understand what other creatures besides the bloodsuckers made their home within the Gardens, for now he simply needed to run, whatever was killing the bloodsuckers might've been keeping them busy, but their sheer numbers would allow one or two to scatter from the groups to come after him. After-all, he was walking around with the blood of a man that had wronged them in ways he didn't think were possible.

The Heir soon lost track of how far or how long he had been running, after nearly being surrounded by monsters, he couldn't allow himself to fall into a situation like that again, lest he tempt his own rotten luck. He looked up, one of the many times he would do that as to not end up running into the walls as he traversed the maze. By some measure of a chance, he saw in front of him the gates leading out of the Gardens, the true exit right in front of him.

 **"Boy! Watch out!"** His Grandfather yelled out to him as The Heir felt a sharp pain on the back of his left leg, his body tumbling to the floor as he moved just enough to land on his side and prevent injury from coming to the still unconscious princess.

Behind Moriarity was a single bloodsucker, his clothes once fine were faded and torn, his skin was dry and sullen, this made him look to be a corpse, and his eyes were sunken as he drags himself over to where The Heir laid. Another dagger would be drawn from his side, his hunger for blood growing stronger as he had gotten closer to The Heir and princess.

The bloodsucker soon stood over The Heir, The Ancestor could only watch as the dagger rose above the head of the bloodsucker before it would plunge down at The Heir who closed his eyes waiting for the steel blade to pierce his mortal coil.

Before the blow could be dealt however, the sound of metal piercing flesh could indeed be heard followed by a righteous voice screaming out, **"Holy Lance!"**

Opening his eyes, The Heir saw a familiar long blade impaled into the chest of the bloodsucker as holy lightning struck through the air and into the pommel of the blade cooking the undead heathen with raw and unrelenting power. Soon the energy subsided and the bloodsucker fell onto its back, seemingly dead as its dagger laid forgotten next to its cooked corpse. The Heir's ears twitched at the sound of metallic and heavy footsteps. Standing a short distance away was Reynauld, who soon closed the distance and offered his hand to The Fallen Heir.

Accepting the hand, The Heir pushed himself back up to his feet, he focused more of his weight onto his right leg as his left leg would be reduced to limping until he sought proper help.

"Reynauld! You are still here?! I would have imagined that you would have gone back with the others to The Hamlet." The Heir exclaimed, surprised but happy to find his ally.

"You know as well as I that I wouldn't abandon a fellow comrade. I had a feeling you still lived, that's why I chose to remain in these Gardens a while longer. I am glad my guesses ringed true and that you still draw breath. Let us leave this fowl place before more of those creatures descend upon us."

Reynauld then takes a closer look and notices the woman The Heir was holding close to his chest.

"Am I to assume that is the Princess we were sent to rescue? I imagine Holy Knight Roya would be ecstatic to hear news of her charge still being alive."

"Indeed, like you said earlier, we should leave as soon as possible." The Heir concluded, he began to limp towards the gate as Reynauld grabs the hilt of his long sword and pulls it out of the bloodsucker. His folly however was assuming the bloodsucker was dead for as soon as the blade had been pulled out, the bloodsucker immediately latched onto the crusader and took the holy warrior by surprise.

Before a reaction could be done from the part of Reynauld, the bloodsucker with its supernatural strength proceeded to rip off a chunk of armor covering Reynauld's right shoulder before immediately digging its fangs into the neck of the warrior. The Crusader let out a pained scream as his precious lifeblood was drained from his very body as The Heir turned his head towards the sight with strong horror and fear building up inside of him.

What happened next happened by pure instinct, he held out his hand towards this sight. His eyes taking on a darker shade as the words of his grandfather repeated in his head. He felt a crown of thorns in the style of his family insignia dig into his head as he focused the stress towards the bloodsucker's head.

 **"Darkest Flame..."**

Uttering those two words under his breath, he blinked to find the bloodsucker screeching like a hellish beast as its head was being consumed by a dark and ravenous black flames.

He blinks again, not believing the sight of what had happened as he cried out for The Crusader.

"REYNAULD!"

The Crusader has collapsed to the ground after being released from the hold of the bloodsucker and wasn't moving in the slightest. The Heir would have assumed the worst if it wasn't for the faint signs of breathing that he noticed a few moments into watching the downed crusader.

Relief soon flooded into his body when he watched The Crusader push himself back onto his feet slowly.

Blood gushed from the bite wound that persisted around his neck, Reynauld took a moment to tend to it with bandages that he had on hand.

"Are you well, friend?" The Heir asked, his concern for The Crusader weighing heavily on his mind after witnessing such a traumatic sight, one of many that he had to endure during his time here.

"Aye, a serious wound gained, but nothing a bit of healing from The Light can't fix. I suggest we leave now more then ever."

That was something The Heir wasn't going to be arguing with.

Side by side, The Heir and The Crusader turned towards the gates and left, their mission accomplished without much loss on their part.

The Princess was saved and the members of the party were spared the cold embrace of death. Unaware to the two however was the change happening within Reynauld, with the pure blue color of his eyes slowly being filled and replaced by a deep crimson.

Little did they know, The Crusader was now a victim of a terrible curse...

 **A Crimson Curse...**

 **"My descendent, we have reunited under troubling terms. Know that the darkness is ever insidious, digging and worming its way into your heart as well as the hearts of the men and women you lead. I fear this is but the first of many dark paths to walk. An occurence that happens all too often in, The Darkest Dungeon."**

 **/Hello Everybody! I know I've been gone for some time, got a little busy with real life lately and its been keeping me busy! Of course, I couldn't just leave this story on a cliffhanger! I intend to finish this story and keep it long running! So, expect another chapter that hopefully will come in the coming weeks!**

 **/Also, now The Heir is learning some dark magic! Will he end up like his Grandfather? Will the others discover the affliction that has slowly formed within Reynauld? Find out next time in, Darkest Dungeon: Modded Edition!**


End file.
